NOTE: With this article, Towel & Basin continues its celebration of Women’s History Month by serving and supporting, encouraging and empowering women who are making history today.
For many moms, the idea of working at home is a dream.
They like the idea of being at home for their kids after school or if one gets sick. There’s no longer any concern when a school break comes around. The kids have a place to be.
But there are challenges to working at home with kids present - regardless of whether the children are younger or older.
Very young children
When you work at home and you have an infant or toddler, it’s unreasonable to assume that you can work full-time during the day and have the children at home as well. But all is not lost. Many moms find suitable solutions such as:
1. You can hire help to come in and help you with the child or children while you’re working. If your infant generally sleeps the morning away, consider having someone come to help in the afternoon when he’s more alert.
2. Work very early in the morning before your young child gets up and then late in the evening when the child has gone to bed. Of course, this might mean sacrificing some sleep yourself, but at least until the child or children are older, this can be a workable arrangement.
3. Put your child in daycare. Your child’s time in daycare could be shorter since you’d not have a commute to a traditional job. This might seem contrary to the notion of staying at home to be with your children, but there are situations when this solution may be the best.
Preschool children
If you have preschool-age children, your dreams for working at home become at once easier and more difficult.
At this age, children are more likely to play independently, but might also – vocally – demand your attention! This can be a challenge, especially if you work on the phone.
Most moms find that the best arrangement for working at home with children this age is to work. . .
- When the child is at preschool or
- In the early morning and late evening,
- During naptimes,
- During a “quiet time” you set. Your child can read, watch a video, or do coloring or other artwork.
School-age children
You might think that as soon as your children are in school, things will get easier. And they will. To a degree. But if you want to work full-time, you must account for those few hours after the kids get home from school and before your work’s quitting time.
Many moms simply set up business hours and keep the kids on a schedule that requires that they respect those business hours. You can make clear to the kids that you aren’t available until your business hours are over.
One of the best solutions for most moms will involve keeping the kids meaningfully engaged. Here are some examples:
After-school activities (sports, music, dance or art classes). You might have to play chauffeur, but you’ll have undisturbed afternoon work hours.
Arrange with other parents to trade off childcare duties by scheduled shared hosting of playdates.
Involve your children with tasks in your business that they can do, and do well (to build their esteem and confidence)
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Being at home with the children is one of the great motivators for moms who work at home. Yes, it does take some planning and organizing to make both your home business and your children flourish. But for successful work-at-home moms, the effort returns many positive dividends.
Sources
Image by Stephan Kelle from Pixabay