Keeping Your Kids Busy While You Work at Home

You know how it goes… You just accepted a big project or JV with a short deadline and all of a sudden your kids who usually entertain themselves for hours after school turn into these little strangers that want Mommy’s constant attention. Here are some tips to help keep the kids entertained while still getting your work done.

Remind yourself that the whole reason of working from home was to spend more time with your kids. With that in mind, plan on working productively for an hour or two and then do something fun with the kids. Let them know that Mommy needs to work for a little while (and set a timer for younger kids or let older kids know how long you will work) and promise them something fun afterwards. Take them to the park, do a craft together or bake a batch of cookies. Then be sure to follow through on your promise.

Sometimes a child that keeps running to you just needs a quick hug or snuggle and some reassurance that he’s still the most important thing in the world to you. Spend those 5 or 10 minutes with him and he may be satisfied and play by himself the rest of the afternoon. Working at home with kids in the house is all about finding a balance between your job as MOM and the work you are doing from your home office.

Arrange for play dates for your kids on a regular basis. Not only do you get to enjoy a few precious hours of peace and quiet when your child is at someone else’s house, but you can also get more done when your child is busy playing with the friend that’s over for a play date. Often your only interruptions are snack time, because the two children focus on each other and not on you. Find some moms in the neighborhood or in your child’s class to trade play dates with.

Of course you can also hire a sitter on occasion or ask grandma to keep your child entertained for a few hours. If you know you are going to work in your office the entire time and don’t mind the occasional interruption, consider getting a mother’s helper. This is usually an older child that you hire for a few dollars an hour to play with your kids, fix them little snacks etc.

Last, but not least create a treasure box for those times when you can’t find a sitter or play date and no other distraction or reasoning with your kids will work. Fill it with fun activities that your children can do by themselves. Simple crafts, coloring books, special toys they don’t get to play with any other time and even a few DVDs are all good choices for the treasure box. Take the box out as a last resort and let the kids pick what they would like to do. Make it clear that they are only allowed to play with things in the treasure box under the condition that they will let you work. A word of caution – The treasure box only works if it seen as very special, so don’t overuse it or it will stop working.

So, mom, now that you have a few tricks up your sleeve, I hope you’re able to meet that deadline.