So many parents are doing what they can to support their families and raise their kids. More often now than ever, many parents are finding great work at home job opportunities that allow them to earn a living to support their families while still being close to their kids. This seems like it would be an ideal situation, and many parents who have such a work situation would not trade it for anything in the world.
Yet as wonderful as it can be to be closer to home and family all day, when you are working at home with toddlers, you actually have a pretty challenging workday ahead of you each and every day. You have the challenges that come with working, and then you have the challenges of raising a toddler – and all of the temper tantrums, trials, and tribulations that come with this fun age. This can make for quite a workday! There are some things you can do, however, to help make your workday go more smoothly, and to keep your little one happier, too.
Natural Rhythms. Toddlers have a natural rhythm or routine to their day that they like to follow. They may like to watch cartoons, take a nap after lunch, and then head out in the backyard or to the park for lunch. Consider the natural rhythm of your house to see when the most opportune times for you to enjoy some quite time are. Put nap times and cartoon times to full use!
Sitting Next to You. Toddlers are thankfully old enough that they can sit at the table or desk next to you and do any number of quiet activities. This may include age appropriate puzzles, color in coloring books, tracing letters and numbers in workbooks, work with play dough, water color painting, and more. Many kids this age can play happily for an hour or so with these kinds of activities.
Personal Attention. You simply cannot expect a toddler to spend a full eight hour work day twiddling away quietly with various activities without any personal attention from you. So you will need to plan to take breaks and really give your child some personal attention. Take a break from your work to walk your child down to the park, read a few books, or set up a board game and play a few rounds.
Mother’s Day Out or Preschool. Kids this age do benefit from being in a social situation with other kids. Some parents will take their kids to play groups on a regular basis, but since you are a working parent, you may benefit from a part-time mother’s day out or preschool program. Consider a program that meets for just a few hours several times per week. It certainly will not provide you with a full and dedicated forty hour work week without kids, but it will give you several solid hours that you can count on each work to work uninterrupted.
Working from home with kids of any age is a challenge, and toddlers are often among the most challenging of the bunch. They are growing into their voices and personalities, and this can truly be a challenging environment to work with. Yet when you follow these tips and set up a system that works well with your job and that makes your child happy, too, you will find that working from home closer to your child is really a great situation for everyone!
Here are a few other articles written by this author:
How Positive is Your Parenting?
Helping Your Kids Through Fights with Friends
Kids and Friend Drama: When to Step In