By Gibbes Hance
During the last 18 months, many of us have worked from home to varying results. While a lot of us loved not having to commute, go into the office, and being able to work from home, it was more difficult for those who have kids. Working at home while the kids were going to remote school is difficult. It doesn’t matter how patient you are or how quiet your child is, working and parenting at home at the same time causes problems. When you are doing both, there are some things that you should do to create space and keep everyone happy and productive. Here are a few tips.
Give Your Children Tasks While You’re Working
One thing you should keep in mind while you’re working from home with kids around is that you should give them tasks while you’re working. Whether they are going to school on the computer, doing homework, or getting their chores done, keeping them busy while you’re working will help them stay focused on leaving you alone to get your work done. If they aren’t doing anything while you are working, they will likely come up to you and interrupt with questions. This is especially the case when there is no one else around. Keep the kids busy while you’re busy and you will be able to get work done faster.
Use Pacifiers & Thumb Guards
If your child is young, they will get emotional when you’re working and won’t know how to deal with it. The earliest coping mechanism is thumb sucking. While it seems harmless, it quickly becomes a bad habit that may prevent the child from learning how to communicate and express their emotions. Still you want them to be calm while you’re working. One way to help stop thumb sucking while keeping the child content is to use a pacifier or a plastic thumb guard they can suck on. It will ensure that the child doesn’t harm their skin by sucking on it while also giving them a chance to comfort themselves.
Keep Them Entertained
When the child’s work for the day is done but yours continues, you should keep them entertained so that they stay quiet. Interactive games are a great way to keep children busy and, therefore, quiet. You can allow them to watch movies. If the other parent is around, they can take them out for a walk or to play a sport. Do you have a pool? They can also go take a swim. The most important thing is to keep them occupied while you’re working. Then, by the time you’re done, they will be worn out by the day and will allow you to relax.
Get Them an Online Tutor or Coach
Another thing you can do when the child has too much free time at home is to get them an online tutor or coach. A tutor can help them with their homework and to study for tests. You can also pay someone to teach your child how to play an instrument, play a sport, or speak a second language. Whatever it is, keeping your kids busy while you’re working is imperative. When there is too much time on their hands, hire a tutor or coach to teach them something or help with school work.
Hire Someone to Help
Are you really busy? 52 percent of parents say it has been difficult to handle child care responsibilities during the pandemic. If you can afford it, hiring someone to help take care of your children is very helpful. Not only will you be able to focus on your work, they will keep your kids busy. You might not want to give in to the idea of having someone take care of your children, but if you are working it’s necessary to keep your children doing something productive so that they stay quiet and busy.
It hasn’t been easy for parents who have been working at home. They’ve had to come up with creative ways to keep their kids busy. Luckily there are a lot of options. If you make sure that your kids are doing something productive, they will leave you alone to get your work done. Then everyone will be tired and happy at the end of the day.
