By Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer
Voordouw (then Bailey-Chung) freelanced for years in all-media so that she could meet the demands of full-time parenting. - Winston Sill photo
Outlook magazine looks this week at the issue of parenting and managing one's career. Is it possible to have it all? Mothers Nicole Bain and Rosemarie Voordouw made some interesting decisions in answering this question. On these pages, Rosemarie shares her experience with us. Turn to page 10 and see how Nicole did it.
THE SIGHT of Rosemarie Chung arriving in studio with one baby slung in a pouch and another toddling behind her may be well remembered by her colleagues at the Jamaica Information Service in Kingston.
With a first degree in the sciences, the young woman could have settled down to days of research and years of advancing her career. Instead, she decided that she needed an occupation that would facilitate 24-hour availability to her family.
So, she literally created a new career as a broadcaster instead. Rosemarie freelanced in all-media in radio TV and print- for 14 years, until she was divorced and took a full-time job. By then the girls, Gabrielle and Liane, were either in, or nearing, their teens so their constant need for their mother's presence was less.
First, she needed to breast-feed them until they weaned themselves. Then she needed time to attend all their school events and other occasions where her presence as a parent was needed. So, her pouches and child car seats came with her everywhere.
Rosemarie bypassed several good job offers in the first 10 years of caring for her two daughters. They were her priority. "I was not climbing the corporate ladder, but it allowed me to have it all, she said (possessing both an enjoyable career and the time to look after her children.
"I had seen too many situations where children were brought up by helpers. I did not want that for my children. Later, when she acquired her degree in Counselling Psychology, she met many parents who were saying "if I had known."
Many of them are now experiencing problems with their teenagers because not enough time was spent with them as teenagers.
Excellent relationship
The counsellor says that she now has an excellent relationship with her teen daughters. She smiles when she says , "My daughter said that one of her friends said she had a weird relationship because we get along so well. "We do not always agree, but I respect them, they respect me and we have a friendly relationship as well. "This is as a result of spending time with them when they were growing up. When you miss growing up years hard to build a relationship."
The counsellor advises that parents who need to spend more time with their children should look seriously at finding more flexible job arrangements or creating their own business. Even secretarial skills, she says, can be offered on a freelance basis, leaving one with more time for the business of family.
