7 Tips for Working Mothers to Keep Their Sanity When Work Calls Them to the Road  

As the number of women working outside the home grew in recent decades to a record 70% of women, the number of women who travel for business has grown too. Women account for almost half of all business travelers. Many of those travelers are working mothers who, even if they are seasoned travelers and rocks stars at their jobs, sometimes feel a twinge of guilt during business travel.

Parting for a couple days, or even a few weeks doesn’t have to be sweet sorrow. Business travel for the working mother can be as graceful as a waltz if it’s well-choreographed. Plan the steps carefully and “Surprise! Tearless travel.”

Calendar and Discuss.
Go over your schedule ahead of time so that everyone understands where and when you will be away. Make certain that whomever will be with the children during your travel understands the kids’ activities and schedules. If traveling for work is new for the family, lessen the stress on everyone by preparing necessary items such as football jerseys, ballet leotards and lunch boxes for use while you’re away.

Younger children can have a difficult time understanding how your trip will be. You can make it easier for them by explaining it in terms of how many nights they will fall asleep without you, or by crossing the days off the calendar as they pass.

Explain Your Work.
Explain, in an age-appropriate manner, what you will do when you travel for your job. Many children cannot grasp why you would have to leave town if you have a perfectly good office a mile away or in your home from which you can work. What will you do there that is different from what you usually do at your local office?

Stay Connected.
Regular communication can ease the pain of separation. To the best of your ability, call when you say you will. Utilize tools like Skype or FaceTime to keep in touch. Many moms use these tools to share books and bedtime routines like prayers, to join the family for dinner from half a world away, or to have a heart to heart with a teen in need.

Rituals to Help Younger Children Cope.
Depending on their age(s), create rituals with your younger children that help them and you prepare for your trip. Let them help you pack. Feed them pizza for dinner the first night of every trip you are away. Allow them to take a bath in your “big bathtub” with bubbles when you go out of town. Giving them something to look forward to will help small children adjust to the separation. Some moms leave short notes or treats for their children to find when they travel.

Responsibility Helps Older Children Cope.
By giving your teenagers responsibilities while you travel, you not only make them a part of your travel, but also help them learn valuable skills even in your absence. If you are traveling to Thailand for work, leave a recipe and the ingredients for a Thai dish for your son or daughter to make while you’re gone. Older elementary or middle school children can share a fact or two with you each day that they’ve learned about the city to which you’re traveling.

Visually Share Your Trip.
Children, especially smaller ones, can find it frightening to not know where mom will sleep when she goes away. They might ask about things that seem mundane to an adult like, “What did you eat for dinner? or How do you get from your hotel to the office in New York City?” Some parents use the camera on their phone or laptop to record a tour of the hotel room, offer a glimpse of the view of downtown out the hotel window, or tell their children in detail what they ate at their dinner meeting. Sharing these trivialities helps children connect with you and gives them an inside look at the glamour, or lack thereof, of business travel.

Arrange for Back-up Help.
Even with a superstar partner at home with the kids, emergencies can arise that necessitate a back-up caregiver. Let someone you trust know that you will be gone on business just in case your spouse or caregiver needs assistance. Having a back-up plan in no way means that you think the caregiver incapable, it means you want to ensure as easy an outcome as possible for them and for yourself. Your presentation at the conference will go more smoothly if you aren’t worried that little Joey will be stuck at daycare if your husband’s meeting runs late.

The last thing a working mother wants to bring on her business trip is guilt. Some small amount of guilt or anxiety is natural, especially if you’re new to work travel. Work travel doesn’t have to be stress inducing or make you question your sanity for leaving your 2-year-old for a week. You can lessen the stress of travel—and maybe even learn to enjoy sleeping alone in a big bed in a quiet room—by preparing your family beforehand.