Episode 05: Kathryn
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In this episode, I interview Kathryn who works in the Medical Research field and is a mother to 2 boys. We talk about being on the other side of work travel and fostering children’s independence!
The Lowdown
– Family of 4
– 2 Working Parents
– 1 working school hours plus a bit more
– 1 full-time
– 9 year old
– 6 year old
3:40 Sleep
4:14 Who are the people in your family
5:10 Being the other half of ‘work travel’
5:48 Always either at work or with the kids
6:36 Me time
7:14 Everyone has a partner that travels for work!
7:33 Big blocks of travel
8:23 Reduction in work hours when your ‘system’ is away
8:54 Going down to fewer drops offs
10:00 The kiss and drop zone
11:08 Second child kiss and drop
12:00 Parenting super powers
12:08 Everyone is still alive
12:17 Disciplinarian
12:58 Guiding the perfectionist offspring (and parent!)
13:16 Parents different views on children’s independence
14:14 More time pressured -> encouraging more independence
14:44 Taking time off when you are part time
16:04 Partners parenting superpower
16:08 Very hands on
17:30 Have you been able to choose your path?
18:00 Moving countries for one part of the family
18:20 Going back to work after a baby – too soon?
18:30 New roles and pregnancy
19:20 Going back to work after a baby – not soon enough?
19:36 Project and work demands after maternity leave
19:53 Working 0.8 over 5 days
20:56 Kindy hours
21:37 Quality time with kids on your day off?
22:04 Being late for work
22:54 Being on time and feeling on top of things
24:06 Taking your turn of Increased hours
24:50 What works well
25:24 Having someone home after school
25:50 Falls down with travel and out of hours functions
25:57 Sir Lunch-a-lot
26:08 Eating lunch alone – yay!
26:34 Downsides
26:48 Scheduling drama to do something for myself
27:20 Work and travel always overrule
28:52 Commitments to governing council and travel
29:40 Support vs delivery
30:32 Family time relying on hotel wi-fi quality
30:44 Travel, kids and time zones
31:19 An epiphany!
31:48 A light at the end of the tunnel
32:12 Next steps?
32:28 Kids independence
32:48 Walking to and from school
33:13 Gradually making the walk longer and getting an extra 15 minutes
34:54 Family responsibilities supported at work? Yes!
35:23 Sick days – who is taking a day off?
35:42 Colleagues provide support and are happy to pick up the slack for sick days
36:28 The boss setting an example of sharing the loadn
39:00 Need to ask for help for that long
39:28 People are willing to help
41:48 Is family what you thought it would look like? Yeah!
42:00 Had kids because we want to spend time with them
42:51 Similar role to mum
43:24 Advice?
43:44 Career advice at university
44:08 Working fewer hours but still at the same level vs having to take a lesser role to work fewer hours
47:10 It will change, it is an evolution
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