It is a paradise that only working parents of small children can understand: a place to sit for three hours without any interruptions while someone looks after the kids.
This isn't a break to get a haircut, go shopping, visit the gym, or read a book. This is a break for work.
So if hipsters and tech-heads can have co-working and hot-desking spaces, then why can't mothers have mummydesking?
Businesswoman and mother Pia Davis came up with the Mummydesk idea when her son, Charlie, was just a few months old. She found herself taking the laptop on walks so she could sneak in moments of work when he fell asleep. Now back at work – and with Charlie old enough to entertain himself with a train set for a few minutes at a time – she has organised a space for other women to get work done.
"I want mums to be able to come in and drop the babies off and then have their own space to work. It is all about working efficiently," she told Fairfax Media.
Asked why mothers couldn't just work at home, Ms Davis says homes were full of distractions and housework. And children needing to be looked after.
"If you turn the TV on you feel like a bad mother. If you don't turn the TV on you have about 30 seconds until you have very cute but very slimey fingers all over your lap top."
Davis currently runs Mummydesk at the Kensington Neighbourhood House in Melbourne's inner west two afternoons a week. She hopes to expand the business to other parts of Melbourne providing there were licensed child care facilities available.
While co-working spaces charge about $20 per day, Davis charges $20 an hour to cover the cost of childcare, plus an extra $10 an hour for siblings. However, she provides free coffee, WiFi, photocopying and printing.
The concept formalises what many parents already do on an ad hoc basis – finding something to entertain the kids while they work on a personal project, organise community events, or study. Look around any playground and you'll see parents sneaking in some email, research or phone time.
"We are trying to bridge this gap, specifically for mums, who are at risk of losing their professional identity and network after having children," Davis explains.
The first Mummydesk session held on Thursday saw several mothers working quietly in a tidy room upstairs for three hours while the children played downstairs with carers.
Contractor Candice McGregor said she was completing an IT project for one of several companies she works for. With an 18-month waiting list for childcare places in her area this was the best opportunity she had for quiet time.
"Usually I try to do as much work as I can while [my child] sleeps, and while he is awake it is a balance of having toys thrust in my face and trying to work," McGregor says. "Generally people who work from home do most of their work when the children are asleep or when someone is there to help you, if you are lucky enough."
Brooke Prust from Essendon works three days a week and was also doing an Arts degree in literature and philosophy. She has two small children and said she doesn't want them in day care for a full fourth day while she studies. So three hours of casual child care and a quiet place to read Greek history was perfect.
"In three uninterrupted hours, you can get a lot done," Prust says.
Davis says Mummydesk was open to fathers as well, but it was usually the mothers who were left to juggle child care with their work or projects. She hopes a few hours of clear head space will empower mothers to study, prepare for a return to work, stay on top of household administration and network.
