5 Tips For Working at Home With Kids

For many parents adjusting to temporarily working from home, getting any work done can feel like an uphill battle. From your littles wanting to play with mom or dad to teens needing extra school supervision, your days can feel long and busy. To help bring some calm to your day, we've put together tips to optimize your work-from-home situation. Your au pair can help as well!

Keep your usual routine (if possible!)

Working from home shouldn't take away from the beneficial activities that you have when you're at the office. During your usual commute, you'll listen to a favorite podcast, or audiobook, or just get some steps in at lunchtime. Try to keep your usual body and mind exercises as similar as possible to other methods, like taking a five-minute stretching break or bathroom break, or listening to your favorite music when not video conferencing.

Make parents working signs

Most kids are visual, so physical visual reminders of "Mommy/Daddy is working" can be a big help. Think about making a cute sign to hang on a door or place on the kitchen table that shows the kids that mom or dad needs twenty minutes to work. Making the sign itself can be a great project for the kids - and your au pair can help with the creation! And as a plus, your kids get to see their artwork displayed.

Naptime is focus time

Younger kids will still need their nap, so take those precious minutes to cross off whatever important tasks you may have. For older children, aim for a "homework hour" (or even 30 minutes) to squeeze in work time. Asking your au pair to monitor nap or homework time can be a big help.

Get a break when you can

Right now, your normal breaks in the day like coffee runs with colleagues or catching up at lunch are on pause. When staying home, short breaks in-between powering through tasks are essential for your well-being. Try to stand up and stretch, take a short walk in the living room or near the house with the kids, and try to drink lots of water. It's the small things that make a difference!

Unplug from social media

While social media can help provide a break from long days, try to limit screen time so it doesn't become a distraction. Try to set a time for checking your feed and stick to it too - your stress levels will thank you for it! As a plus, challenge the other adults in your home and see who can keep their social media streak.

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