How to Work From Home with Kids – 8 Tips

In 2020 everything changed. Working from home went from somewhat common to an explosion of at-home remote workers. But if you are a parent, how to work from home with kids, do great work, and be an awesome parent?

We love our children. We love our work (hopefully) but the two things are not exactly designed to be done at the same time. But COVID ushered in a new world of challenges, routines, and adjustments that require us to be thoughtful, strategic, and good planners.

Here are 8 Tips on Working at Home with Kids can be Easy. Practical. Fun:

1. Create their own place: To study, encourage growth, learn new things and enjoy entertainment. Many parents are grateful for being able to have more time and influence on their children’s learning. Kids can be creative in designing and decorating their designated learning areas. If you have a family pet, include their pet in their “kid space”. Dogs and cats that love their kids add a calming and happy factor like nothing else!
2.  Kids can learn new skills: Languages, coding, science, math, music, art, advanced reading & writing skills that are not being taught at their schools.  Enjoy a wider variety of different interests and different subjects. learning new knowledge, not just for the sake of learning or memorizing. And many parents are finding their children have special talents and skills that get revealed when they are more involved in their child’s learning.
3. Set up a schedule together: Take scheduled breaks together (walk, help with homework, play, bonding, stress-reducing activities).
   Teaching or attending classes from home, gives parents control over their day and allows for planning. family bonding time.  Take fun field trips.  Meet other kids in the same area. Deal effectively with bullying behaviors in your child or others. You need structure but some flexibility in setting up their study schedule and breaks they can look forward to may be most productive for them.
4. Make sure snacks, nutrition, and hydration are set up before the workday starts: Children can enjoy fresh fruits and healthy snacks, better and more nourishing food than they might at school. If your child eats too much junk food, think of this as an opportunity for a reset that can give them good eating habits for life.
5. Discuss boundaries: closed door, make signs (have fun with this), use a clock “we’ll be back” like stores use. Boundaries are essential for your work to be focused and professional but also because stay-at-home study gives you more time to impress good work habits and family values. Teaching boundaries when children are young will make all their relationships healthier and help them be as successful as they can in life.
6. Have an alternate adult available for crunch times if possible: Grandparents, other parents that you can trade times with, sitters, aunts, and uncles. As much as we love our children, time apart is good for their mental and emotional growth as well as you. Parents need focus time when working and meeting with clients online. It is vital to maintain your professionalism and dedication to your work so that your occupation or career can flourish too.
7. Sign kids up for physical activities as your area allows: Dance, sports, gymnastics, surfing, swimming, things that burn off kid energy. There are also numerous studies that show that children learn better when they are allowed periods of physical activity to offset long periods of sitting. If your child is particularly active, it may not be a problem like ADD, it may just be that they have more energy than other children. Adults need a break from sitting too. Taking a walk, stretching, or doing a short yoga session can be therapeutic.
8. Create your own space: working from home means setting up your office or work area so that it’s comfortable, out of the family traffic areas, and personalized. As a parent, you have so many responsibilities, and making sure your environment sets you up to win is one way you can ensure your family gets everything they need from you when you are not working.

Bonus Benefits That Working from Home Gives You and Your Family

 Save stress: when workers have to travel more than 35 minutes to work, it can increase the level of stress and anxiety. Studies have shown that spending more time with the family can help lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar levels, get extra sleep, have more time to exercise and eat a healthy breakfast.

Save money: working from home can also help you save money on high office rent if you are the owner.  Plus, you no longer have to be near the city or metropolis areas which tend to be more expensive. Save upwards of $3,500-$12,000 a year on car maintenance, parking, gas, work clothes, lunches, etc.. Money you can save for travel & retirements.

Time flexibility: No matter how structured your job tends to be, working from home gives you flexibility. Need to run one of your children to dance class? Pick up lunch or watch a kid’s soccer game? When you are not in an office you have the opportunity to flex and add an hour in the morning or evening to cover your work responsibilities.

Positive environmental choices:  Working from home also helps to reduce pollution. Let’s face it. At the height of the pandemic, we all saw pictures of cities with the cleanest air in decades. Los Angeles’s haze lifted, Denver, a city in a bowl that holds pollution, saw crystal clear views of the Rocky Mountains. European cities reported an influx of wildlife.

At Safety Toe Shoes USA we are committed to safety in the workplace – at home, in the office, warehouse, outside, and all settings. Reducing stress, increasing workplace enjoyment brings a multitude of benefits, including increased safety.