Working from home with kids to look after!
The virus has now started reaching us here in Blighty and we are all working from home, the kids are off from school and we are all being very good citizens and staying indoors! Whoohoo! Well done everyone!
You are one of the lucky ones. Not a key worker but you are able to work from home. Although your boss knows your child/children are at home with you, you have still got to finish your work whilst simultaneously looking after your kids. How does anyone do that all day long? It’s not easy, that’s for sure!
Your colleagues without kids are probably complaining about how they have scrubbed clean their whole house, done the gardening, painted and created some kind of crafting project and now have nothing left to do! Whereas you, on the other hand, still have a messy house, even worse than it has ever been in fact, and you are all over the place in your mind. So we thought we would give you some tips. They might help, they might not but I really hope they do!
1) There is no way you can stick to a normal 9-5 working day. Hopefully, your superiors are understanding and are giving you a bit of slack but you are going to have to give your kids some attention throughout the day and do a bit more work once they are in bed.
2) Netflix, Disney Plus and YouTube are now your best friends. Gone are the days of limiting their screen time. You need to be on a call – put something on the TV!
3) If you have a garden, use it. Create some outdoor active activities to wear them out.
4) Puzzles, drawing, easy crafting, school work. These things will keep them quiet when needed
5) Try to go out for a walk in the day (providing it adheres to the government guidelines, I’m not talking about meeting up with others at the park!) Some fresh air is always great.
6) Let’s face it. It is stressful. The whole situation is stressful let alone including working and entertaining the kids. Try not to let that stress show to your kids. Keep things as light and as fun as you can.
7) Be silly, do silly dancing and funny face photos.
8) It's ok to say no to your kids. They still need boundaries and they need to know that you can’t entertain them constantly.
9) If your child still takes naps – use them for working time. Plan zoom meetings and calls around the nap times.
10) Can you include the kids with something you do for work? You never know, you might have a great PA in the house!
So our thoughts on this are to give yourself some slack. No one in the world could juggle a full time job, full time childcare and homeschooling all at once. Some days are definitely going to be harder than others but try to take it in your stride. It’s not often you will have all this time together so make the most of it in any way you can. We are all going to need an award when this is all over! Most importantly - Stay safe!