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Juggling a full-time job and a family is a hard-won lesson in expert scheduling and creating a support system that enables parents to do both. They say it takes a village for a reason, right? Thankfully, in recent years, co-working spaces have sprung up around the world - offering families a new, efficient, and convenient way to steady the constantly swinging work-life pendulum. Here are a handful of homegrown, communal platforms that are setting their own terms for how the every day grind plays out - with the kids in tow.
1. THIRD DOOR
This London-based work hub and nursery allows parents to fulfill their career goals alongside offering day care for their children ages three months to five years old with a supportive network of members and convenient services. Their online booking system allows parents to book flexible packages - including by the hour, fixed day packages, and monthly packages depending on work needs and holidays.
2. WOMEN'S INCUBATOR
A female-run co-working space in Seattle, Washington, the Women's Incubator offers two options for child care: A drop-in pre-school designed for children 2.5 through 5 years old, offering creative learning and movement activities alongside sensory-rich imaginary play. The cowork/coplay option is reserved for newborns to 2.5 years olds and is run in a parent-supervised community room where parents cowork together with their children playing all in the same place.
3. NIDO
Located in Durham, North Carolina, Nido serves parents who work remotely or run small business, while also offering a Montessori-run play school for kids, Nido also hosts community events and workshops for everything from learning how to grow a small business and setting marketing goals to potlucks and cookie swaps. All lectures and workshops offer spaces with or without childcare. Plus, weekly yoga classes are included in the membership!
4. BROOKLYN EXPLORERS ACADEMY
This Brooklyn, New York-based co-working space has it all - a universal Pre-K program, a farm-to-table preschool, holiday and summer camps, after school programs and drop-off child care, plus Friday film nights/pajama parties for the kiddies so parents can have a little fun for themselves. A meaningful curriculum and healthy nutrition are the pillars of the children's care programs.
5. HAPPY HUBBUB
This boutique child care facility in Melbourne, Australia, takes the best elements from professional offices and casual cafes and blends the two for a modern and collaborative working environment. The coinciding on-site childcare incorporates early learning programs and development plans in a spacious, open-plan indoor play area and interactive outdoor space.
