Looking After Your Children While Working From Home: How To Manage?
The Coronavirus crisis is putting many parents in an unprecedented situation...
...they suddenly have to juggle their work from home and take care of their children.
Between preparing meals, various activities, and often even school at home, it's difficult to keep a pro-personal life balance!
These remote working conditions are not "normal"...
To get by or at least float, you have to have that in mind.
Start by changing your conception of " I work from home " to " I work remotely in times of crisis while babysitting my children, and I do the best I can ".
Obviously, as a parent and an employee, you are used to juggling family and work responsibilities.
But let's face it...
...the current situation is complicating things!
What happens in each household is unique because each family has more or fewer children, who are of different ages and possibly have specific health concerns to deal with.
However, we have tried to offer you 3 steps that can be adapted to your situation to succeed in this great challenge, work from home while giving your youngest children the attention they deserve.
Let’s get started...
Click here to know how to protect your kids from COVID-19 Psychological impact
3 Steps to help you manage your kids while working from home
1. Set up routines
Do you usually structure your day in a certain way?
Keep going!
Along with the comfort of a familiar schedule, you'll be able to better balance your work and family obligations.
Also, do your best to wake up and fall asleep around the same time and have your meals around the same time.
Likewise, set in stone schedules for doing activities, taking breaks, and getting out of your home.
These meetings are usually the first to go by the wayside...
And in this case, the whole family is impacted
This can result in decreased motivation and energy or less regular communication.
Keeping these appointments will help you to reproduce the schedules of your everyday life in normal times and therefore to set a framework to adapt your days.
2. Adapt your new schedule
The next step, while maintaining these essential appointments, is to incorporate them into an arranged routine.
It will aim to make your professional obligations and your private life coexist.
Take into account the schedule of your children, your professional meetings, and even the program for each meal!
Centralize everything in a calendar...
Then create your working blocks all around.
Depending on your professional and personal situation, here are three suggestions that might help you:
Relaying you with your spouse
One solution may be to set up 4-hour shifts where one of you works, while the other takes care of the children.
Arrange alternate time slots
Depending on your respective jobs, you can also opt for time slots of 30 minutes to 2 hours during which one of the two occupies the children.
Cut the day in half
If you are taking care of your children on your own, it is best to be able to compartmentalize your work clearly.
For example, taking care of him or them during the morning (and waking up to work before the fateful time to get up!)
...and then working in the afternoon when playing with legos, coloring, cartoons, video games, or even outdoors if you have a garden.
All the activities that make them more independent are good to take!
Other suggestions:
You can even hang a sign on your office door or on the back of your computer: the signal that your little one should not disturb you.
A priori, this technique works at any age, but for the little ones, treats or the promise to read more stories can also motivate them to play calmly while waiting for Mum or Dad ...
That being said,
.. it's important to stay realistic and flexible.
Forcing a child to learn doesn't do any good, and that “all-important-and-obligatory reunion” will not necessarily come at the right time.
Communicate your family’s obligations with your partner, chef, and colleagues to find creative solutions.
It may be easier to refuse and simply say "no"...
Don't be afraid to explain why this is impossible in these complicated times!
The world of work is in turmoil in any case!
3. Find new ways of doing things
If your kids are used to doing certain activities every week, they can continue - adapting them, of course.
Besides, it would give you time to work while they take care of their side.
Here are some ideas for adapting certain activities:
Create virtual play spaces
Set up meetings between your children and their friends online, via Google Hangouts, Zoom, Facetime, or any other video-conferencing application.
Exercise regularly with your family
Nothing worse than a little one who needs to stretch his legs!
To occupy them, a lot of sports classes exist online, on YouTube for example. Ideally, you can also join your children to work out with them.
Likewise, going out once a day for a short walk, a walk in the garden or even a moment on the balcony is important… you will see that the fresh air empties your head well!
Share good tips
No need to reinvent the wheel in all families: what if you shared your best practices with your friends and colleagues?
Share your meal lists for the week, your recreation programs, your home school sessions.
It is possible, for example, to divide up the tasks or to take responsibility for them one week out of two or three depending on the number of families participating.
Take the advice that we also offer you, and adapt it to what will work with your children.
And don't forget to take advantage of these exchanges for yourself too, to share what is in your heart.
All exchanges are good to take (especially during this period): don't forget to take care of yourself!
Perhaps you are not in tune with the idea that your children are stuck behind screens (but as we understand you!).
It is possible to simply explain to them that we need the technology to interact with our families and friends at this precise moment.
So we no longer use computer or telephone screens.
Don't be too worried..
...once the Corona crisis is behind us, you can go back.
Prepare the ground by explaining to your family that this is exceptional and by preparing them to return to normal.
...playing sports with friends in the great outdoors, walking in nature, doing group activities with a teacher, walking the dog in the forest, etc.
Celebrate the small victories!
Your little successes…such as working two hours in a row without interruption, keeping your daughter or your son busy on an online game, setting up a daily videoconference with Grandpa and Grandma, or sharing the menu for the week with your best friend by email, etc... deserve your congratulations!!
The current situation is very special, and parents are not superheroes who have to live in confinement like everyday life.
By adjusting your activities and your personal pro-life balance to what we all experience today, you will be able to manage it better.
And whatever happens, be kind to yourself…!
About The Author
Dema JS is the founder of newbabysmell.com and a mother of two little kids.
Dema had her MBA from St. John’s University- NYC in dual concentrations: Executive Management and Marketing Management.
Contact: Please email dema@newbabysmell.com or go to newbabysmell.com