Advice for Working at Home

Advice for Working at Home with Children

By Deirdre Luvon

As a mother of two young children who has been working from home since embarking on the journey of motherhood, I've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't in terms of working at home with children. My first recommendation is to know your priorities. Chances are, if you are working from home and you have children, one of the reasons you are working from home is to have more time with your children. So don't forget the importance of spending time with them as you learn to juggle guiding a successful home business opportunity with parenting.

Take time to be with your children exclusively. Even if it is just for a 15 minute walk during lunch, or a 10 minute tickle break, those are the memories that both you and your child will hold on to. Often, if children are nagging you for attention, and you sit down to be with them, look them in the eye, hold them in your lap, for even a few minutes before leading them into another activity, it will be enough connection for them to dive into playing on their own again.

Of course, you might need some completely child-free time while working at home. Here are some suggestions for finding child care that will be a fit for you and your children.

• Many part or full time daycare centers are available to meet diverse needs.
• A live-in nanny could be an option if you want your child near, but tended to by another.
• If there are other parents with children close in age nearby, you could barter childcare with them, which will also give your child a playmate.
• If you are so lucky to have relatives close by, give your children and your relatives an opportunity to enjoy each other.
• Another inexpensive alternative is to hire an older child to come over and play with your child. You will be right there if needed, but often older children are very enthusiastic and attentive caregivers.
• And of course, there is your spouse. Can you work out trading on and off kid-duty with your spouse?

If you are struggling with needing some childcare while managing your home based business opportunity, remember there are many solutions that could fit your unique situation perfectly.

Even if your children are a more present part of your work at home situation, there are endless ways to keep them (and you) occupied and happy.

• First of all, look around at your office. Is there a place for them? Do they have a toy corner, stocked with special toys to be played with only in the office?
• Or better yet, set them up with their own 'office'. Children love to mimic their parents. Get a hold of a play phone, a small desk, even an old computer if you can. Tape, scissors, stapler, and of course paper and pens all make wonderful additions to their 'office'.
• When your children get to be a certain age, sometimes when they have a friend over it is easier for you. Why not invite their best buddy over for the afternoon?
• You can also encourage quiet games. Reading, writing or drawing contests could inspire them.
• Is there any way to incorporate them into your home business opportunity? If you deal with merchandise and shipping, can they help pack and unpack boxes or stick labels on envelopes?
• If you have a spare functional computer, especially with internet access, you can think of many information quests to send them on. Even a five year old can figure out navigating the Web, especially if he's looking for photos of dragons and Tyrannosaurus Rex.

So far we've covered how to work without them, and how to work with them. Here are some ideas about working around them.

• Burn the candle at both ends. Be careful not to burn yourself out, of course, but if you can manage to get up an extra half hour to an hour early, or to stay up beyond your child's bedtime, you could manage to sneak in some delightfully quiet and quality work time.
• If you work on a laptop, you can bring it to a playground or a library to get some work in while your children are happily occupied.
• If they are looked after by someone else, but still audible, go ahead and wear headphones to tune them out and focus on your home based business opportunity.

And last but not least, here are the tips to resort to when needed. If you are on a very important phone call and your daughters are tugging on you and pinching each other and you just need ten more quiet minutes to wrap up this deal, don't feel bad about reaching into the cupboard and handing out cookies to buy you that time. When used occasionally, but not as a daily standby, I've found bribery to have no ill effects. If you have a safe yard, sending them outside is an option that might give you the needed quiet and them the needed run-around time.

While managing your home based business opportunity, it is important to keep a professional standard while valuing your time with your children. Know it's better to let the phone go to messaging than be answered to a two year olds' howls. If you know that there may be sounds of children in the background, be up front with who you are talking to rather than try to hide the fact you are working from home. Working from home is not something you should be ashamed of, but it is also not something you should let be a distraction from the quality of work you want to perform. There are many ways to successfully blend a working life with a home life to allow you to maintain your values and your priorities.