How to Manage Working at Home and Caring for the Kids

There are several things that are needed when a mom decides to work out of the home and still care for the kids. This can be a very difficult task depending on how old the kids are. If your kids are too young to be in school then you will really have to plan out your entire day. Since I still have little ones at home and currently work at home, I will share a few things that have worked for me. First of all you want to make sure that you schedule your day around the kids, not the kids around your day. This way you are making sure that your children are still getting all the attention and care that they need from you.

So let’s start with the morning routine, first you will want to get breakfast ready, if possible before the kids wake up. By doing this you save time, and complaints about them being hungry and your nerves will net get worn out first thing. After you are finished making breakfast than you can get the kids up and dressed, and feed them their breakfast. If I start breakfast at about 7:00 -then we are done with breakfast at around 9:00am. This would of course include cleaning up the kitchen after everyone has eaten. For about the next hour or so I give the kids a little play time. This way you are spending time with them, which is what every child wants.

At around 10:00am I give them a small snack, and then put them down for a nap. Little ones are usually pretty tired by this time. Then you can begin your work. You should make sure that al of your work is organized properly and that your desk stays neat. If you share the computer with your husband you may want to think about getting your own computer, or even investing in a laptop computer. Kids at this age usually sleep for about an hour or hour and a half. When they wake up they are usually hungry again, just in time for lunch. After lunch I would suggest taking them outside to play, this will help burn out their energy and really wear them out.

With my kids they are usually asleep by about 2:00 in the afternoon, and the afternoon nap is about 2 hours long, How you organize your work space can also have a big effect on how much work you get done, and how will it is done. If you’re at home job requires you to use the telephone you will want to make sure that your work space is set up in a separate room, preferably one with a door. This way if the kids wake up and begin to make some noise they will not interrupt your phone call. Another thing that you will want to have in your office is a baby monitor so that you can listen to your children. Personally I like the one with the camera on it this way I can not only hear them but watch them as well.

As far as the cleaning and laundry are concerned I like to do this in the evening after dinner when my husband is home. This allows me to get all of the cleaning done and allows the kids to spend some quality time with dad. If I still have some extra work that needs to be done, I will finish that up when my children are asleep. Obviously you will need to have a job that is flexible, where you do not have to be at your computer for 8 hours straight. Once your children start school, of course this will make your life a little easier. Before you even think about taking a work at home job especially if you have more than one child you will want o consider, how much you can truly devote to this job and how it will affect your family.

Also take into consideration how much you will be compensated for the work that you do. You of course will not want to work for minimum wage pay, not doing two jobs. That’s right two jobs! Being a mom is of course a job itself and then by working at home you are now working two jobs. One thing that I always say that you will need in order to accomplish this successfully is good management skills. If you have poor management skills then staying at home and working may not be for you.