How To Work Around Children

working at home has the built in challenge of working around children. For many, that is the reason for working at home - to spend time with your kids. But working around kids can prove challenging at best, so here are a few tips to help you get your work done, save your sanity, and still be a good parent.

If your children are not yet old enough for school, you will be with them for the entire day.  It may be best to not take on a full time virtual job at this point, but rather a part time position that will help you keep up with and learn some new skills for the time when you are ready to go to work full time.  Try to keep your household to a schedule if possible.  This will help you have set times that you are able to work uninterrupted.  You may choose to get up a couple hours before the children wake in order to have quiet time for working.  Or you might be sure to set aside time after they are tucked in.  Unless naptimes are quite regular and fairly long, it may be difficult to get work done then, but you can most likely get in a few emails or phone calls. 

Babies are often happy to sit in jumpers or swings for fair amounts of time if they are near you and can see you.  This may allow you to spend a bit of time in front of the computer while baby enjoys some relaxing play.  Toddlers can be entertained near you as well, in the playpen. But little ones will tire of too much confinement for too long, so don't expect them to be content indefinitely while you type away.  You will have to take breaks often.  Children who are not yet in school, but too old for the playpen are often happy to work beside you with paper and crayons, creating their own “business papers”.

If the kids are in school, you have a built in period of 6 or so hours each day for work, except during seasonal school breaks. In this case, you can simply schedule the bulk of your work during school hours. During breaks, you may want to look into day camps or other good ways to keep your school age children happy and occupied.  If you choose to have them at home during breaks, you may want to plan time off to spend especially with them.

Don't forget, the services of a good, qualified sitter or nanny can be helpful on occasion, and grandparents are often happy to see the young ones for an afternoon here and there.  Make the most of your work time, and make the most of your family time.

Posted:Monday, September 03, 2007