Working from home with children

For over seven years I used to run a successful home business. This was back when my children were toddlers and young children. I learned quickly that I needed to find a balance between my business and raising my children (of course my children always came first – and still do). As time went on I learned a lot of tricks and tips from other business women that I networked with.

Working from home with children is a challenge, but it’s not impossible.

Here are some handy tips you might be interested in if you have a home business, work from home or are considering either of these options.

Childcare shouldn’t be ignored as an option. If your work is really challenging and requires a lot of concentration, then turning to childcare for the solution shouldn’t be a disregarded option. By sending your child to a daycare center they will be kept active, and will learn important social skills and it will be educational for them. The benefits to daycare are numerous but at the very least you will have a good amount of time to do your job without any interruptions. However, the price of childcare can be quite high, so it might not be good for everyone, therefore, you could try getting your friends or neighbours to lend a hand, when you really need some focused work time.

Call in the cavalry. It really helps to have a helpful partner. My wife is a high school teacher, so she needs to do a lot of homework herself (excuse the pun), so to make sure we are both able to do our work properly and look after the kids we take it in turns working at the computer, while the other spends time with the children. Alternatively, you can take the kids out the house, take them to a park, or read to them, while your partner does some work.

Make the perfect office. This may sound obvious but the chance to work from home affords you the option to get a decent desk and chair at the very least, you should be comfortable. And this doesn’t need to be expensive, by using sites like eBay and Etsy in combination with shipping sites you can find cheap couriers (handy tip you can try using the courier services of uShip).

Make the kids work for you- Whenever it is possible or feasible, you should try and involve your children in your work. Explain to them what you do, and let your child take part in some of your tasks and help you out. Through doing this regularly they will begin to form an understanding and appreciation of your work. And leave you alone, and play quietly when it’s time for you to do your work

Nap times are golden tickets (use them effectively). Get the most important work done and out the way when the house is silent because your children are sleeping. Try to work right through nap times. You can also get a significant amount done if  you wake up an hour before your kids and work or if the idea of waking up early sounds too nasty, work for an hour after they go to sleep in the evening.

Working from home is on the rise. However, looking after children and having to work at the same time can be extremely difficult, not only do you miss out seeing them for a large part of the day, but if you need to get a baby sitter, it can also be rather expensive. However, if you already work from home or have the chance to work from home, there are a few common pitfalls to avoid, so that you can still work effectively and efficiently and still be with your kids, this post is in no way a complete list, each person will find individual, unique methods that work for them, but this post should get you off to a good start.

*This featured post was written by Amar Patel. Introduction written by me. Any opinions expressed are my own or that of the author.

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