Chicago Working Mom Reveals Secrets To Staying Connected With Kids

Noreen Heron is a busy Lincoln Park mom who has two children — Connor, 13, and Ava, 11 — who both attend St. Clement School. A long-time publicist, Noreen opened her award-winning PR/Ad/Social Media/Marketing agency, Heron Agency in 2000, specializing in lifestyle communications for hotels, restaurants, theaters and spas. She works with such high-profile clients as Hyatt, Le Meridien, Fairmont, Renaissance, the Chicago Yacht Club, Massage Envy Illinois and more.
Prior to that, she served as the Public Relations Director for Hyatt Regency Chicago, the city’s largest hotel and Hyatt’s biggest property, supervising PR for the hotel and its five restaurants.

Publicists have been named on the top 10 annual most stressful job lists many years running, by outlets like Yahoo, Business Week and a plethora of others. It’s a fast-paced, deadline oriented, relationship driven, competitive field of endeavor. Owning an agency that employs nine people full-time adds to the hectic nature of everyday life for Heron, who is also a single mother.      

Fortunately, technology development has made it possible for moms as busy as Heron to stay in touch with their children. For Heron, there are some useful standbys in apps and programs that allow her to always keep up with her kids. Here are some of her top tricks of the trade for staying in touch, from both the home and the office.

Face Time

"My children are constantly Face Timing me, and I Face Time them back as well. My daughter will use it just to talk when she is bored, or to ask me if I think the outfit that she is wearing that day works, or to tattle on her brother! My son will use it just to say hi when I am at work. Occasionally, my son Connor will use it to show me a homework assignment. Sometimes, I will be in the basement and my daughter upstairs, and she will Face Time me with a pressing question that she wants to ask so she doesn’t forget to ask it! I’m never without my phone because as a publicist, a client may have a crisis or a reporter may call and says yes to a story, or require a photo for a daily paper. I need to respond quickly."

Texting

"Plans change quickly when it comes to driving and pick up. Sometimes a mom will ask if one of my kids is available to go over to their house after school. I text my son when it is an emergency, at school, hoping that he will get it. I also text my kids pictures a lot and share with them what is happening throughout the day. I just bought my daughter a phone; more of a convenience for me than for her!"

InstaCart

"My co-worker introduced me to this app, which is a mom’s life preserver on time and a great way to connect the family. On Insta Cart, you can virtually shop at Costco, Mariano’s, Jewel etc. and have your items delivered to your doorstep. I start an order and my kids shop and add it to the order. We cyberspace shop together and look forward to the delivery." 

Flight Tracker

"My son always tracks my planes when I travel. I appreciate that he cares that I get to my destination safely."  

Musical.ly

"My daughter Ava is obsessed with this app. It’s kind of like virtual karaoke but you lip sync to a song. She and her friends record themselves together too, and Ava always shares her and her friends’ creativity (with me). The videos are really animated and it is a fun way to connect."

Michelle Guilbeau is a writer, reviewer, teacher and business owner. She is also proud founder of CraftKitsForKids.com, MichelleGuilbeau.com and bestchicago.blogspot.com Michelle enjoys sharing her knowledge of cities, food, travel, education and parenting issues with her readers. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.