Skyrocketing child care costs and cuts to government spending have forced women in the UK into some pretty tough decisions, and things aren’t looking too hot on the other side of the pond. A recent, small fall in overall unemployment was outmatched by a huge spike in unemployed women in the UK. According the researchers, more than 250,000 women have been out of work for over a year.
Childcare Costs
Recent cuts to childcare taxes in the UK have proved financially challenging to working moms, who are finding they can no longer afford to pay for professionals to care for their children even if they maintain full-time employment. A majority of single-parent homes cite women as the head of household, so those tax credits were vital to many working women. Budget cuts have made it impossible for thousands to work and care for their children at the same time. When faced with a choice, women are becoming unemployed and caring for their children at home.
Women in the United States are facing the same troubles. Recent budget cuts, current fiscal crisis and dysfunctional government have frightened many residents, and with good reason. But staying at home doesn’t mean dooming oneself to a life of financial uncertainty, and it doesn’t guarantee instant poverty. Women (and men, too, for that matter) have the option to start working at home while caring for the kids, beginning a career in self-employment.
Work at Home Moms
Moms have a lot of options when they’re home with the kids. It’s a full-time job to take care of children, and any mom knows it, but there are always nap times, meal times and TV times when things get a little quieter -- and that becomes mom’s work time.
Sites like Etsy and eBay provide crafty and business-minded moms with lots of options for selling online products. Who needs a yard sale when it’s possible to sell everything from old books to baby toys to outgrown clothes on the Internet? Candies, ornaments, clothes, wedding items and every imaginable craft may be sold online at Etsy, a relative e-commerce newcomer that’s grown massively in a short amount of time.
There are lots of work at home ideas for moms who want to earn. Freelance writing, transcription, website design, consulting, chatting and customer service jobs are all available online, and all will give moms the chance to earn money when they’re at home with the kids. Look to online job boards and specialty sites geared to work at home moms to find jobs and ideas. Even writing a blog can be a good way to earn money, and provides mom with a creative outlet, to boot.
KC Morgan - KC Morgan has been the featured writer in Self-Employment since 2006, using personal experience to create guides to being self-employed.
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