Parenting Skills Can Translate to Job Skills

Parenting skills translate well to job skills for several reasons. You can apply the same skills you use at home in an office setting, and the lessons and strategies you learn while raising your kids may work for dealing with co-workers. Here are five skills you can bring to the work world if you're an active parent.

1. Multitasking

As a mom or dad, you understand that many parenting skills involve multitasking. Whether it's driving a car while handing your toddler a juice box, flipping pancakes while comforting your infant or talking to an older child while keeping track of a younger sibling. You have what it takes to deal with multiple stimuli at once. At the office, you may have to talk on the phone while typing an email, eat lunch while conducting a meeting or listen to your boss while taking notes.

2. Handling Tense Situations

James pulled Jenny's hair, and now both kids are fighting with each other. Rather than yell at both of them and escalate the situation to a shouting match, you need to diplomatically separate both children and calmly talk to them about their feelings of upset. These same diplomatic parenting skills translate to job skills when dealing with interpersonal conflict. Instead of yelling at the combatants, you can separate the individuals and get to the bottom of why the argument started by calmly talking to the individuals involved.

3. Networking

You must get to know the people in your children's circle, whether it's a pediatrician, teacher, principal or parent of a friend. This means having the ability to network effectively is one of many essential parenting skills. Networking skills are always important in the job world. You must regularly connect and communicate with individuals within your industry, potential clients and customers.

4. Managing Flexibility

Your children may decide they want hamburgers for dinner instead of chicken nuggets, which is a simple change to adapt to in a home environment. A more difficult thing to deal with may be figuring out what to do if you planned a busy day but a sick child needs to stay home from school. Handling flexibility is crucial in a work setting as well, because situations and plans can change in an instant, and you must be read to adapt to the change.

5. Creating a Budget

Parenting skills generally involve money. You have to manage how much to spend on household essentials, toys and clothes, plus you have to budget for meals, gas and monthly bills. At the office, you might need to create an annual department budget for the team you manage. You might also be in charge of budgeting for office supplies, new software or malfunctioning equipment.

Leverage your parenting skills into an ideal management job since you are both a leader in your household and you manage a dedicated team of individuals on a daily basis. What are some important skills you learned as a parent that translate well to an office environment?

Photo courtesy of Parenting Magic at Flickr.com