Working From Home With Kids: How To Balance Work And Take Care Of Your Children

Working from home offers many advantages. It allows you to be more flexible and work around your family schedule, and it also allows you to spend more time with your kids. But it can be challenging to balance work and take care of your children, and with the added stress of the pandemic, some planning and structure will go a long way. 

Luckily, there are several ways to balance these two priorities. With a bit of creativity, focus, and dedication, you can find a routine that works for you and your family. Here are some tips on how to make this work easier for everyone involved.

Embrace the new normal

There are the pre-pandemic standards, where you could go for a run, send the kids to school, crush a full 8-hour day of work, and still come home to make dinner for the family. If that’s somehow still plausible for your work from home plans, then you’re living the dream! If, however, what I’ve described only overwhelms or stresses you like most of us, then there’s nothing wrong with that. 

Don’t hold yourself to the old standards, and instead, try to embrace the new normal. So what if the only things you do in a day are one meeting and watching your kids play? That’s still an accomplishment.  Give yourself a break, and try to take it day by day. 

Plan specific times for break 

It’s important that children play outside and participate in either solo or group activities that challenge their minds. With parents and also children working/studying from home, it can be hard to make that extra time to relax and enjoy watching your kids play. To ensure that your child gets enough play-time, you can always visit establishments with outdoor playground equipment such as holiday parks or local playgrounds.

On days where you’re on a time crunch and can’t possibly leave the house, indoor activities are always an excellent way for a breather, both for you and the children. 

Try playing board games, making DIY handmade jewellery, or baking simple sweets together with your kids. Even something as easy as blasting some upbeat music and dancing together with the children can boost the mood and help everyone refresh. 

Encourage independence in your children

If you always do everything for your children, they won’t learn to do it for themselves. Instead, allow your children to practice basic life skills such as loading the washer and dryer. They don’t have to learn to do everything alone, such as loading the washer and dryer. However, they can try small tasks such as pouring their breakfast cereal and adding milk or folding and putting away fresh laundry. Being away from your children for small intervals of time improves their personal development. 

Set boundaries and explain how it works

Now is the moment to set up your workstation if you haven’t before. Hopefully, you have an office with closed walls and doors. Of course, this makes it simple to draw a line between work and home, and it also makes it easy for your children to realise that the office is solely for work.

Explain that when you’re in your workspace, you’re at work and must concentrate solely on that. That said, don’t discourage your children to the point that they refuse to enter your office, even if it’s for something important. You want your workspace to be welcoming and safe for your children.