Member reflections on Playhood’s first year
What a difference this year made for our family, says Georgia Norton…
When our first son turned one back in 2015, I blithely followed the precedent of other returning mums to work four days a week at that employer. This approach turned out for me, unfortunately, to be a set back in both my career and personal growth: there were assumptions that mums must be too tired, too out-of-the-loop, too distracted and surely unwilling to travel to work on high profile projects. In an industry with high churn, I felt put ‘out to pasture’ and it took several years of campaigning to try to course-correct the treatment of working mums. I didn’t want anyone else to experience what I went though. Meanwhile, I had missed out on landmarks and connection with my little one and his community of classes and friends, and so on.
With the impetus of not wanting to waste time and energy again, and with new confidence in establishing my independent consulting business, my re-entry to economic activity following my second son’s birth was radically different. This time, I used the latter half of maternity leave to try my hand at some new types of work and more flexible ways of working that fit with the way we wanted to parent. I realised that I could actually get regular freelance work that offered more control over my schedule and I also discovered that applying my skills to things I really cared about was highly rewarding, for example: becoming a school governor or working with start-ups run by local parents.
I went from meeting Karen initially to give some advice on the branding side of Playhood to applying desperately to become a Member at the end of 2019. While my second son was one, I embarked on a (remote-working) strategy contract with Nike in Portland and chaired a working group to rethink communications at our local primary school in Crouch End.
But it was Playhood - the physical place, the community and the experiment in finding greater harmony in parenting and career development itself - that unlocked a new chapter in our family’s growth as a coherent experience. Turns out this doesn’t have to be logistical puzzle; muddling through as line items on a kitchen calendar; forcing apart professional and parent roles.
The friendships and learning that are flourishing for my youngest in the nursery has seen him thrive during the Covid-19 pandemic when so many children were isolated and had their horizons limited (and screen-based). He’s giggled and gardened and found his voice. In absolute parallel - not coincidentally - the headspace to focus on my work without the emotional wrench and physical toll of a commute, and the peace in knowing he’s close by but taken care of by the warmest most excellent Montessori guides in such an inspiring space, has enabled me to take my business to the next level. I’ve taken risks and challenged myself with support, advice and encouragement here from people I barely knew but got very close to quickly. Our family has a routine, a ‘village’ and a calm we cherish.
So thank-you to all at Playhood and happy first ‘birthday’ indeed.
Georgia Norton is a strategy and communications consultant and mum to a 7 and 3 old.
Follow us on Insta @playhoodclub