20 Ways that you CAN work at home with small children
Today we are discussing ways you CAN work at home when you have very small children (That like to attach themselves to your hip, and we know this all too well being parents ourselves)
Here are our top 20 tips when working with children at home:
1: Baby wear and work with your baby.
2: Work when they nap.
3: Work when they go to nursery for their 15 hours.
4: Work when your partner comes home.
5: Work when they go to bed.
6: Allow them to have 1 hour ‘tech’ time and focus working then.
7: Work when they eat and are in their high chair.
8: Place them in a play pen with lots of interactive toys and allow them 1 hours ‘Free play’ time. Sometimes giving them basic items like pans, spoons and household objects like remote controls might work better – My baby girl once played with a spoon for 40 minutes!
9: Create a planned detailed schedule.
10: Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
11: Choose activities that are not messy, unsafe and your children can be entertained by like: drawing, building, puzzles, reading and their own ‘workstation’ for them.
12: Reward them when they are well behaved and let you do your work and then spend time with them, so they know that they can have your attention and don’t feel neglected, so ensuring that you have a clear ‘work’ and ‘play’ boundary. If you focus on work all the time your child might become more stressed and need your attention, so managing your work and play balance with them may help them.
13: Set realistic expectations – you will not be able to work an 8-12 hour shift, 3-4 hours a day is more realistic.
14: Create a designated workspace for yourself.
15: Ensure you’re the job you choose you can manage working at home with small children.
16: Mental health – Work on mum guilt and make sure you have self-care time, as a priority because a healthy mum is a happy mum, that can provide.
17: Arrange virtual playdates with other working parents, so they ‘play’ with another child online.
18: Arrange play dates with other parents, where you have the kids for a couple of hours so they can work and vice versa.
19: Get your kids involved with tasks, if they are able to help, like shredding, putting stamps on letters, take photos of you working ect.
20: Get up early and work before they wake up.
If you work at home with your children, what helps you?
We hope this post gives you the information you need to feel inspired, empowered and educated.
The business parents organization
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