In the wake of the Coronavirus 19 pandemic -Many private and public sector companies have made the decision to allow (and in some cases mandate) that their employees work remotely.
This is a miracle for some that enjoy working remotely and an adventure for those that have never done it before with kids.
My first post discussed working from home in general but now I want to focus on working remotely when you have little ones with you:
Here are some ways to be successful while working remotely, if your child(ren) has to stay home too. The beauty in these tips, they are straight forward:
Get Prepared!
Buy and PREP meals and snacks ahead of time. Hungry kids are cranky kids and there is a huge chance that you won’t have a great amount of time to prepare 2-3 meals from scratch, while you are on the clock. Spend time, the day or weekend before, to stock up on healthy, low sugar snacks e.g. String cheese, fruits and veggies with dipping sauce, fruit snacks, crackers and chips. Create a meal plan for the week so you know when to serve what and how much you actually need.
TIP: Prep meals into separate containers so that you can heat and serve with ease.
Discuss the need for flexibility with your supervisor. Little humans, especially the tiny variety, can be a bit unpredictable. So letting your immediate supervisor (and your team if be) know that there may be brief spurts of time where you have to step away to change diapers, give lunch or put someone down for a nap will arise and does not mean you are not slacking. (this is mainly if the kids will need to be home too). This also helps while caring for a loved one who is ill.
Put your child(ren) on a schedule. I have found that young kids thrive on a schedule. Create a chart that works for you all and stick to it. A great starting point is following what they already do in school i.e lunch and nap times.
Plan your schedule along with your kids’ schedule. eg having your conference call after their meal or during naptime would reduce noise (use your breaks to care for them).
Tag team with your spouse/partner. One person can care for them in the morning while you work and then in the afternoon, switch roles. Hubs and I have done this and it works when you are on the same page.
Nap time is the best time for that conference call (in another room of course). Draw the curtains and play soothing nature sounds (e.g. rain falling) while they nap. I learned this from my son’s daycare and he can nap for hours if I let him.
Keep them occupied with engaging activities, quality/age appropriate programming (don’t let youtube autoplay be your default). This is important because engaged kids are happy and quiet kids. Have a set of building blocks, activity books, games and crafts that they can use only during work hours. This way there is something for them to look forward to. You can have instruments for music time, books for story time and play sand or paint and paper for art time.
Be flexible. Sometimes kids will just be kids and they will decide that they don’t want chicken nuggets or to lie down for a nap. The most important thing is to be flexible with them. Some toddlers are independent and want to make decisions for themselves so if you have one of those give them 1-2 options to choose from and they will be much more cooperative.
If you made it to the end, you are a real one! I hope these help you or someone you know who needs this. Just remember to do what works best for you and your household and be flexible. I’ve also written a post on championing working from home on your own here.
