It’s tough being a parent, whether you’re working full-time or stay-at-home.

This week I’ve picked out one post which takes an honest look at life as a parent with the summer holidays looming and another which ponders how some of the skills acquired as a parent might be put to alternative use.

When childminders go AWOL, and other perils of being a working mum as the summer holidays approach – Raising Jonah

Reprobate Mum is a full-time working mother who lives in East London with two children, Jonah and Ava, rapidly approaching their tweens, a pug, and (her words) a beleaguered other half, Tom.

Always honest with a side serving of snark, she doesn’t pull her punches, revealing the hardships of motherhood as well as revelling in its joys. In When childminders go AWOL … she contemplates the outsourcing of her kids’ lives and the upcoming school holidays with a combination of triumph and trepidation.

I’m sure many of us can empathise with how she feels.

You can follow Reprobate Mum on her blog Raising Jonah and on Twitter @Reprobatemum.

How having a baby could make you a master criminal! – Funkydaddy

Belfast dad Funkydaddy is a first-time father who has taken the decision to take additional paternity leave to support his family and achieve a better work-life balance.

He always has a wry view on life with his baby daughter. How having a baby could make you a master criminal! examines the skills one develops in the early stages of parenthood that could one day stand you in good stead should you wish to pursue an alternative vocation, perhaps with a view to becoming the next Baron Greenback or Scarlet Overkill.

Take notes. You never know when this might come in useful.

You can follow Funkydaddy on his blog Funkydaddy and on Twitter @FUNKYDADDIO.

If you have any suggestions for great posts by other bloggers you’ve read this week, feel free to add them in the comments below.

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