Co-Work and Co-Play: Managing Work from Home in COVID

Mommywize

October 11, 2020

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With the onset of COVID-19, the worldwide lockdown had forced us all to stay home. It was like a pause button, but work was still going on courtesy to the technological advancements. This time was an avenue for a lot of parents to spend quality time with their little ones, which they previously couldn’t. COVID or no COVID, many parents who have small kids are now opting for work-from-home so that they can get the best of both worlds with an opportunity to be available to their tots while still bringing in a remuneration. But here’s the catch. When you start practicing work from home, you get to know how difficult it is to concentrate on your job while keeping an eye on your tot or entertaining his demands for attention. It’s even more of a mountain climb if your child is an active toddler and not an infant. Therefore, balancing work and a whining or mischievous child can be quite a task. But here is how you can make things easy with the prerequisites about working from home with toddlers:

Set the alarm

It would be most feasible for you to get as much done as possible when the kids aren’t around. Set the alarm an hour or two before they are awake for the day. If you function your best in the morning, attempt your largest projects during this time to avoid interruption. Even if you aren’t an early morning person, getting up early can still be the best option that you might want to try. Have a cup of coffee and utilize this time to organize yourself, respond to quick email inquiries, and predetermine the rest of your tasks for the day.

Keep your toddler engaged

Sovereign play is important for the child’s growth and should be encouraged. For working parents, sovereign play can give them some much needed time to get work done. Busy bags are a great way to attract your child to play by themselves. They’re exactly like what they sound: bags of simple tricks designed to keep toddlers engaged without you needing to get involved with them.

A helping hand is all that you need

Sometimes, productive work from home requires appointing help. It depends on your circumstances and needs, there is a variety of helping hands available to cater to your different demands—from an all-day nanny to a parent’s attendant that comes for a few hours on some days of a week. Creating a routine with that attendant can assure that you have some committed time every week to get your tasks completed without any hassle.

Some Parenting Hacks

• Waking up before the children makes the day a lot easier; it can help you get the much wanted “me” time and to plan the day ahead. Also, most importantly, learn to say sorry and thank you to your kids, no matter what their age. • Allow them to get bored sometimes; it helps with their imagination skills and also inculcates the habit of finding something useful to do for themselves. • You cannot control your children always; sometimes, a battle avoided is a battle won. Let them do things their way once in a while; it makes your life much easier while giving them some sense of control. • Don’t just listen, but ask – involve yourself while they are narrating something to you, follow up with more questions, and before you know it, they will be talking to you without trying. • Let your child watch you fall asleep, do not play on your phone or read a book while it is their bedtime. They are following your lead, so be boring, close your eyes, and lie still – they will learn to sleep on their own by watching you.

Neighbours are sometimes our lifesavers

You must look for some other work-from-home parents like you in your area to understand and share your load. You can maintain a baby-sitting switching schedule with their assistance. A switching job mainly refers to a situation when one parent takes care of both the kids for some hours so that the other can work peacefully and vice verse. Consequently, not only can you achieve some much-desired undisturbed time to lay your nose into your work, but your child will also get a fun day outing. Benefit: It’s of no cost!

Nap at noon is necessary

While you are a work-from-home parent, imposing a set relaxing time each day for at least three hours at noon isn’t only necessary for your child’s health and growth, but it’s instrumental for you as an all-time working parent too. You can fix a 2-3 hours afternoon nap time for your kids so that they can get their rest, and you can peacefully work knowing your child is sleeping.

Advantages and disadvantages

Operating your job from home have many noticeable profits for most of the parents, but it’s not easy at times. Resting your work can’t be feasible psychologically, but if your child is whining to get your attention, possibilities are, the child is not going to stop till he wins. Keep your to-do lists on hold, shut down your computer, and give your child the time and love he wants, and he should get. Determine some limits for yourself and assure there is enough work-free period during the whole day. After all, the main bonus of doing your job from home is to spend time with your child. So ensure that you can do so.

Set boundaries for yourself and others

All your family members (including your spouse) must realize that if you are working from home in your room and the door is closed, they must assume that you are not at home as they take care of the toddler. Similarly, the other parent should also be entitled to the same privacy. With a dedicated workplace where you can work peacefully without any disruptions, it becomes very easy to harvest the profits. But even with these working mechanisms, the overwhelming and surprising transition in working conditions from an office to a homely atmosphere could leave some of us under pressure and would require some time and practice to get familiar with the change to get better at managing the situation.

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