Flexible volunteering for a new mother?

Question

I have a 10 week old son and will be on maternity leave until march next year. I'm feeling very privileged at the moment, my son is very settled and I'm getting plenty of sleep, I live in a lovely area and have a very supportive husband. I'd like to do some volunteering, I can do office work, shop work and have worked in call centres, but primarily I am a primary teacher. Obviously, I have a little baby to care for too, so it would need to be ultra flexible - I'd have to be able to bring him with me and feed him whenever he wanted. I live in London and don't have a car, but he's fine on buses and tubes that have a small number of stairs or a lift. Quite a comlpex one, but any ideas?

Answer 1

How about minding children while their moms are taking classes at community centers or health care facilities or churches or whatever?  There's a big demand for this kind of volunteer in the U.S., especially in neighborhoods where there are a lot of disadvantaged, single moms trying to improve their lot in life through education and training.

How about working from home?  If you have an interest in a charitable or religious institution, they often have clerical work you can do at home or on-site with your baby.  For example, I coordinate volunteers for our synagogue gift shop, and I do almost all of this from home, using the phone and e-mail.  

A more "professional" option for you would be leading or assisting with a "mommy and me" class/program.  These are very popular in the U.S., and are probably prevalent also in Britain (who knows, maybe we got the idea from y'all!).   In my outdated experience (my youngest child is 20!) "mommy and me" programs are usually run out of churches, synagogues, preschools, and community centers.  The purpose is to provide a social environment for moms and toddlers, and to educate young moms about interacting with their  toddlers in a social environment.  For example, a lesson I learned in this group is that children aren't ready to share until about age 3.  Until that age, it's best to teach kids how to take turns when playing with toys.  I also learned when it was best to take my child out of a social environment, when either she's not in a state of mind to be "social" in a good way, or when other children are out of control.

Good luck to you, and I hope you completely enjoy your child's infancy!  Such a magical time!