Working from Home with Kids
How to create a plan to keep yourself and your kids sane right now
Working from home when you have children can be a huge blessing. It means you have a flexible schedule where you can drop them at school or daycare, then pick them up again without having to leave an office. Normally in an article about remote work and kids, I’d share stats about how flexible work hours and remote work are a boon for families. But given the unique circumstances in which we find ourselves right now, it’s more appropriate to talk about how to work with kids being in the home while you’re working.
Many parents are not only finding themselves transitioning to working from home unexpectedly, they’re also juggling kids who would normally be in school during work hours. That adds a whole new layer to the complexity of transitioning to remote work.
In previous articles, I talked to about how discipline is critical for new remote workers. The same principle applies to having kids at home while you work. I was homeschooled, so I know how important it is to set a schedule for kids and keep things as normal or regulated as possible. Obviously working from home affords much greater flexibility for creating your unique work schedule—which is a huge blessing when young ones are home.
So how do you organize your family and work in this surreal situation in which we’re living? A lot of it will depend upon your priorities and how your family functions best together. Here are some ideas that will hopefully help you thrive during this experience.
If you have younger kids (babies, toddlers):
Set a schedule where each parent gets work time.
Many parents are finding themselves both working from home right now. That can make things a little more complicated since both parents need time to work. Some parents are taking shifts with their kids. One parent works for a couple hours while the other watches the little ones. Then they switch and let the other parent have their work time.
Talk to your employer about increased flexibility.
If one parent has a job where they have to be “on call” for calls and aren’t as flexible, perhaps the other parent can ask their employer for more flexibility in the hours they need to be available. Some remote workers can be truly flexible (i.e., working 2pm-9pm, or whenever they can squeeze in work during the day). For those who need to be on a more regulated schedule for their workplace, each will need to balance the others’ schedule.
Call upon family and friends for help.
It’s true many family members aren’t traveling right now because of quarantines. But if possible, call upon family, neighbors, or friends to help out for a few hours every day. This will give you the time you need for focused attention on your projects.
Have grace on yourself.
This is a tough situation and we’re all in it together. Most employers recognize that their employees are at home with kids right now. If a kid wonders into the room during a video call, or your coworkers can hear some kiddos making noise during a conference call, it’s totally understandable. We’re all human. We have families. We aren’t two different people in the office and outside of it. Or, at least, we shouldn’t be. It’s important to set aside focused time and attention for your work, but right now it’s okay to not balance the two perfectly. Who knows, maybe you can top the best work-from-home-kid-crashing video of recent memory.
If you have older kids (age 7+):
Set clear guidelines with kids on when and where they can go in the home workspace.
If you’ve been able to establish a home office or work space in the house, it’s imperative that kids understand that they cannot enter that space during their parents’ work time.
I recently worked with a coaching client on where he should establish his office in his house. He hated being so far away from him family in the dark basement, but it gave him the quiet he needed to work. Conversely he didn’t want to be interrupted in his light-filled upstairs room that wasn’t quite remodeled into the workspace he needed for focused work time.
Through our coaching, he realized that all he needed was a signal to his family that he was “in work mode” so they wouldn’t interrupt him. He decided to put a light outside the upstairs workspace door kind of like the “On Air” light at a TV or radio studio. That way his family would know not to interrupt him. He’d be closer to the family, in a room that he preferred, but would still have the focus he needed.
Have set school hours for kids while you work.
Keeping your family on as normal a schedule as possible is critical right now for both your and your kids’ sanity. It will also help you get as much uninterrupted work time as possible with kids at home. Try to set a schedule that’s as close to a regular school and work day as possible. Since there aren’t work commutes or after school activities right now, you can modify your schedule to spend more time having fun outdoors or on new family projects together.
Some schools sent their students home due to the coronavirus without schoolwork to do. This is your chance—well, obligation really—to try homeschooling, even if you never thought you would. Last week I mentioned Prenda microschools as a way for otherwise apprehensive parents to try their hand at homeschooling without the pressure of creating a full school program.
Take plenty of breaks with the kids.
Have no doubt: with kids at home, your usual work schedule is going to change. Instead of resisting this change, go with the flow. Create breaks throughout the day for you and the kids to go for walks, work on a craft, serve the community, or sew some masks.
You might not be as “productive” at work as usual, but you’ll teach your kids valuable lessons about how to give back, how to integrate family and work together, and how to gracefully navigate a crisis with calm and love. As a conscious parent and a conscious employee or employer, that’s one of the best contributions you can make to your family, community and workplace.
While this is a trying time of anxiety due to the unknown and abnormal circumstances, there are many blessings as well. Parents and their kids get to take a break from the hectic pace of their busy schedules and spend some quality time together. They can reprioritize what really matters. And they can learn new ways of relating to each other that will hopefully strengthen their relationships.
Yes, this is a difficult situation. But you will adjust and adapt. The key thing to remember is that family and connection is the greatest gift we have during troubling times. So the next time your kid runs into your home workspace (for the hundredth time today…) just remember that the reason we work at all is to provide for our families and contribute our talents to the world. Those kiddos are the reason we do all this, and having patience to show them how to balance contributing to our work while loving them could be one of the greatest lessons they ever learn.
I will soon be launching a training series for employers and employees to hone their remote work skills. Stay posted for these exciting and timely new courses!
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