For many work-at-home moms, part-time child care is all they need because they have non-traditional work schedule or their children are in school. Not to mention that many work-at-home moms only work part time. And obviously, part-time employment only requires part-time child care.

But how much is the right amount of child care? The answer to this question depends on your type of work, lifestyle, finances, ages of your children and many other factors.

Self-employed work-at-home moms can often scale back their hours (and subsequently, their income) to only need babysitting part of the time, but they must balance the needs of their family and their business. Some telecommuters are also able to obtain part-time employment. Some moms may need to employ child care while they meet with clients but can manage other aspects of their work day with the kids around.

Even full-time work-at-home moms can often manage with only part-time child care. They may work early morning, after bedtime, or on weekends. School-age children are usually gone at least six hours a day, leaving only a relatively small amount of time in which babysitting is needed. Some couples share the child care duties, if one or both has a flexible schedule or does shift work. These ideas for free child care will often work for part-time work at home moms.

But part-time, work-at-home moms, particularly business owners and independent contractors, need to constantly evaluate their child care situation because both children and businesses are constantly evolving and changing.

Sometimes even though you can make do with part-time childcare, full-time child care is needed to actually grow your business.

Types of Part-Time Child Care for WAHMs

Out-of-Home Child Care

• Full-day school
• Pre-school
• Half-day, summer camp
• Part-time daycare
• Relative/friend

In-Home Child Care

• Relative/friend
• Babysitter
• Mother's helper

More Child Care Resources for WAHMs