Because children need consistency, it is essential that you learn how to agree as parents on how to discipline your children, and how to raise them, especially if one of you is going to be home with them more often than the other. One of the best ways to help is to spend a few hours together as a couple and create a discipline and responsibility plan.

Decide on responsibility:

Together you need to agree on the duties each parent has. If one parent is home all day, they might be responsible for the responsibilities such as feeding the children and washing their clothes, but that does not mean the other parent should be responsible for disciplining the children. The fact is, if it is always, "wait until your father gets home" as a threat for discipline is highly unfair to the father. It also means that children sometimes wait several hours before getting disciplined, which is not healthy. As parents you do not want a "good cop" "bad cop" role. Instead, you want to discuss how to equally distribute discipline. It is just as unfair to have the mother being the one that always punishes the children just because she is always home with them. Also, figure out the small things like who gets up with the kids in the night? Who puts the kids to bed? Who makes them breakfast?

Know how you will handle big issues:

You need to discuss how various issues will be handled, and what you together feel are appropriate and inappropriate punishments. The last thing you want is your teenager telling the father who is at home on the weekend that "Mom would never do that." Dad should already know what Mom would and would not do, even if she is not home.

Learn to take breaks:

One of the key things the stay at home parent needs to remember is that if they want their children to be happy, they need an occasional break. However, usually, if you do not ask for it, you are not going to get it. Breaks are not always going to happen just because both parents are home. So, if you have had a long day, and are in need of some time to yourself, then when your spouse gets home, ask if they can hold down the fort while you run out for a pedicure, or even just grocery shop by yourself. Time alone is the best way for a stay at home parent to get a break.

Both the parents need time for themselves sometimes. For him it might mean watching sport center, or going out to play basketball with buddies, or playing a video game. For her it might be a hobby like scrapbooking, or crafts, or it might mean going out for dessert.

Make sure kids spend time with each parent:

It's especially important when there is a stay at home parent that the kids spend time with each parent. This is why you have to make sure that when you are both home you are both helping, and that you both enforce rules, and that you both insist chores are being done etc. There are lots of fun things each parent can do with the children, but that cannot replace the parenting side.