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Home business parents - Making your work fun for the kids, key to lowering stress!

by xInd
5 replies
Here's a tip for those parents of you out there who work from home or find yourself stopping by the office with your child/kids. Particularly at a younger age when you tend to have it in your head that your 4 or 5 year old can't possibly be interested in what you're doing or understand any of it... Just remember they really want your time, to be close to you, and to feel your happy energy and love. It's not too hard to turn a "Daddy come play with me" "In a little while I have to get this work done" conversation into "How about you come work with me?! Here this is what I'm doing" Then just narrate your next activity, like read the email you're typing out loud, or voice your thoughts... Then when you get interrupted with questions, sort of redirect and continue on, tell them this or that, it's all new and interesting, strange and unknown and we're all inherently curious. Just be sure to explain the rules that work for you, when entering your work space, and explain that it's your work space and what that means.... Just like that's their room and they're always allowed to play in there, there are certain rules and guidelines, there are different but similar rules and guidelines in mommy or dad's office/work area.

What do you do to help keep yourself sane and the kids happy, while still actually getting things done? What is your biggest challenge in this area?
#business #fun #home #key #kids #lowering #making #parents #stress #work
  • Profile picture of the author hayley.frisbie
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    • Profile picture of the author milkyway
      Originally Posted by hayley.frisbie View Post

      it always lessens my stress levels to see him laugh or reach for the keyboard though!
      Wait till he is a little bit older and can aim more precisely for the keys that do the most damage to your open files -- and then think back about the time when watching him reach for the keyboard lessened your stress level...


      Xception-Industries, that's a great idea for a thread. I haven't found a solution for myself yet. To get some work done, I need to focus on work -- I'm not multitasking-capable, I can't explain to an inquisitive kid what I do while I do it.

      Looking forward to reading your thoughts and suggestions on this issue,

      Regine
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  • Profile picture of the author jcoolbaugh
    I have my little man (now five) help me make "pictures for clients." While I'm working with photoshop, he sits at his "desk" beside me and draws whatever HE thinks a client's site should look like. Then at the end of the day, I usually take one of his pictures, scan it into the PC, and show him how we'd turn it into a website :p He thinks it great fun... and he's actually developing an eye for design at the same time!
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    • Profile picture of the author xInd
      Originally Posted by jcoolbaugh View Post

      I have my little man (now five) help me make "pictures for clients." While I'm working with photoshop, he sits at his "desk" beside me and draws whatever HE thinks a client's site should look like. Then at the end of the day, I usually take one of his pictures, scan it into the PC, and show him how we'd turn it into a website :p He thinks it great fun... and he's actually developing an eye for design at the same time!

      That's awesome!! good job. Those are the kind of things I'm talking about. It applies to other family members too, like spouses, for example... The more you get them enjoying some form of involvement in your work, the happier everyone is, the easier everything is.
      Keep up the good work, I'd like to hear more.


      Originally Posted by milkyway View Post

      Wait till he is a little bit older and can aim more precisely for the keys that do the most damage to your open files -- and then think back about the time when watching him reach for the keyboard lessened your stress level...


      Xception-Industries, that's a great idea for a thread. I haven't found a solution for myself yet. To get some work done, I need to focus on work -- I'm not multitasking-capable, I can't explain to an inquisitive kid what I do while I do it.

      Looking forward to reading your thoughts and suggestions on this issue,

      Regine
      Now that my son is at that stage, I got him his own laptop, it's just a cheap used old one I put together myself, spent a total of $100 on. Much better than a desktop for the kids, because it's their size, and they are bigger than it, and they can have it at a little table of their own, or even sit on the couch with it if you don't have the setup you need for a koffice (kid office) alongside you. That's another thing to aim for, like mentioned above, having a small office setup for your kid(s) makes them just love it. Set them up with some reader rabbit or other learning games and they can play while you work. Treat them like an adult who's never owned a computer before and you're teaching. They don't want to be locked out of things or not go here and don't touch that. They want to explore, experiment, learn, see, touch, experience. Let them. You can always reformat the computer, take backups, etc. For the cost in setting them up their own machine it's just not worth not, let me know if you need any tips or help in doing so or getting something cheap for the kids, I have wholesale accounts with hardware distributors and some other things on the go.
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      • Profile picture of the author milkyway
        Originally Posted by Xception-Industries View Post

        Treat them like an adult who's never owned a computer before and you're teaching. They don't want to be locked out of things or not go here and don't touch that. They want to explore, experiment, learn, see, touch, experience. Let them. You can always reformat the computer, take backups, etc. For the cost in setting them up their own machine it's just not worth not, let me know if you need any tips or help in doing so or getting something cheap for the kids, I have wholesale accounts with hardware distributors and some other things on the go.
        Thanks for the offer and suggestion! We do have old computers, and the kids spend time in my study "working". The point is simply that I can't work when they are around. The moment they enter the room, they want to be involved. And I can't focus on two things at once, so work suffers.

        I've adapted my work hours. It simply means more night shifts...

        Regine
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  • Profile picture of the author Audrey Harvey
    I homeschool my two children and one of our term projects is to build a wordpress blog. I've been a bit sneaky because I've given my daughter a literacy niche, and my son an IT niche, so they're interested.

    They sit at their inexpensive laptops with me while I write, and they design their header, create their email address, brainstorm post topics, look for affiliate programs and tweak their theme. They love it, it keeps them busy and we have a work sample we can submit to the college at the end of term.
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