Please help with disruptive 7 year old boy.

Two things - even when unavoidable that can cause stress and affect a child's behavior. When a family is focused on survival, children may not get the attention/discipline/training they need at a young age.

I'm not sure you can judge his behavior in that setting as going to work with Mom is boring for a 7 yr old. It's a place where there a lot of stuff he CAN'T do and not much TO do.

Or perhaps there are no consequences. For a child that age, negative attention is still attention...and at age 7, attention is important.

People will jump in with diagnoses - but his "better behavior" may have been when he was much younger. If it were me, I'd help the worker find an alternative and discourage her from bringing him to work. It puts his mother in a bad position trying to explain away his disruptive behavior and that doesn't make it better.

Have you considered a leash and tying the boy to a desk drawer or something? Maybe some educational beatings? (I'm kidding on both counts, yes?)

I don't have kids of my own, but I've got 14 nieces and nephews, the oldest about to turn 10. When they decide that it's time to release all their pent up energy and become annoying, the tactic I use with fair amounts of success is to play with them a bit, tire them out, and then tell them that it's time for me to take a break, because I have things to do. If they can remain calm and relaxed for 10-15 minutes, I'll play with them for another few minutes. By giving them their fix but forcing them to "earn it", we both get what we want, I get the quiet I need, and they get to have fun with their favorite (or so I assume) uncle.

A shot of Jack oughtta put him down for a "nap" for a bit, Biz.

DVD player, smartphone, iPod, coloring books, or just give him old electronics and some hand tools, tell him to destroy at will.

Or tell her to find another solution. Or find another housekeeper.

Have you let her know about how his behavior irritates you, and that you pay her bills?

May sound like you're being a d*ck but, after all, you're running a business, and it's not bring your kid to work day.

If there's no other solution, maybe do like Bengr86 said, and entertain the young pup. Get him involved in something he finds fascinating, learning on YouTube, or something you can both do together until she finishes up her work.

When my daughter starts getting demanding, I'll put YouTube on. There's videos she watches that are cartoonish, but teach her all kinds if "Did ya know?" facts. Pretty entertaining.

Or just beat him. Put the fear into his heart lol, then all you have to do is give him the look. /sarcasm

Sounds like a combination of him being bored because there's little to do and him probably needing some attention. Without giving this a lot of thought, it seems like you have two choices:

1) Give him some attention before he acts up to get the attention he needs, and that way it can be positive attention instead of correctional in nature; and give him some things to do. Here you're kind of acting like a big brother or mentor.

2) Tell your worker she'll have to find someone to care for him while she works because you can't have him disrupting business.

The first option, if you have the time and desire for it, would be better for the boy. That actually sounds more like you, too (what I know of you from your posts here).

Surely there must be some work that he can do, and even earn some minimal pay for doing so. It'll keep him busy, and genuinely engaged in contributing. I'm not talking harsh child labor; I'm suggesting some age-appropriate task that he can do, and that you need done anyway. A seven year old child is certainly capable of contributing, and you may even find that there are some positive aspects to the relationship, beyond keeping him out of the way.

teach him how to code, he will be busy all the time in front of the computer.

Thank you all for the input so far.

He can keep playing all day - just one of those type of kids.
As Mike Anthony pointed out. Computer, TV... only keeps him
occupied for so long. A couple of hours -not minutes - of play might
wear him down for a little while.

I'm in a rural area, so good help is hard to find and Mom's a trooper.
For example, she still came in after only getting two hours of sleep
because one of her other kids had been to the emergency room for
bad stomach issues. I told her we could get by without her. Another
time I had to make her go home because she was throwing up - she
was still willing to help.

Bringing kids to work is a perk I've always allowed to keep good help.
Babysitters around here are dicey/flaky and I don't want to be even a
tiny bit responsible for something bad happening to an employee's kid.

Also, baby sitters/childcare cost way more than earnings. Three childcare
facilities around here and two are only during weekday school hours.
All are expensive.

I'm going to work on the positive attention aspects and restrict him from the
office lobby area, unless he is with Mom - basically as she is coming and
leaving from work.

The philosopher known as Kay might be right about judging his behavior
based on the little bit I see here. Mom reported that he does do well at
school with the structure and teachers being able to supervise him. Hotel
work is hands on so it's hard to manage him as a teacher can.

Dan

Thinking some more about my earlier post, I realized that the second paragraph of a review I wrote recently fits in rather well with that spirit. This was for a very alien-themed AirBnB home in Roswell, NM, so the review was written to align with the host's market positioning:

Note 1: Sorry for the all-caps; their system does not accept italics for emphasis.

Note 2: That is not an affiliate link!

Note 3: Yes, this particular kid is older than seven. But still, it's the same general idea.

Note 4: For those outside the US who are scratching their heads, Roswell has a reputation/folklore for being a place where aliens from outer space supposedly crash-landed in 1947.

Some good ideas there Kay.

Sometimes it's school days. Most times it's weekends when both parents have to work.
Drawbacks to being in tourist related businesses.

The energy might be typical boy. The inconsiderate aspects of his personality do not seem
typical.

You're an employer, not your problem. Tell her don't bring the kid to work. Done.

Kidding

The housekeeper should understand that he is a risk to YOU, and thereby to HER and her employment. He could make you sick, steal, destroy all sorts of things, etc... If need be, maybe you can explain to her and the kid that if he can't behave, and she has to bring him, that you have to let her go.

I would NOT pay him, or teach him anything just because he is acting up. That would be reinforcement of the behavior.

And imagine hw he will be as a teenager, etc...

Steve

The kid needs a drill sergeant to straighten him out and teach him the fact that the world doesn't revolve around him. He's rude? Push-ups and running. He spits? Push-ups and running. The military has mastered corrective training and it works like a charm. The kid will also become healthier as a result, which isn't a bad thing.

When I was young, I was spanked. When I was about a teenager I was subjected to that corrective training of PT as punishment. I grew up to be a well adjusted citizen as a result. I think more kids need that kind of discipline. There would be a lot less crybaby bullies, with entitled superiority complexes, if there was.

Gee, Dan. If that town is anywhere what it was in the early 90's, you have a problem.

If you fire her, there is likely to be some sort of local social retribution if she's lived there longer than you. That town kinda protects its own...........which is maybe why you are asking questions instead of just dumping her off in the first place?

Sounds like the kid needs a daddy. Not sure how up you feel for being this kid's big brother - but if you keep him around, it's a role you are taking on.

There used to be all sorts of women out there not otherwise employed that would take care of this kid while she works. Where'd they go -- or is money the problem? There should be social services for a low wage earner that will pay for his care while she's at work.

Also - there's sure to be other women with that problem up there. Has anyone taken it to City Hall? Seems like a perfect opportunity for the town to develop an organization for kids - one that might be a little fun and educational. Look where you live - survival day camps would be awesome for these kids. Or somewhere they can develop personal interests such as arts and crafts, or read, write. That can be done as easily as opening a room or two in a school off hours for kids like this - and I'm assuming she's got him there off normal school hours.

If you feel that you want to keep her on, and that means dealing with him - use that time to teach him the business. What happens when a kid is 12 and he's been taught things like customer service, inventory, clean-up, etc? Or maybe there are some other locals who might take him off your hands -- say someone needed to have a dog walked for a little while and a few dollars in the kid's pocket?

That's a pretty close knit community - see if anyone can there can help the situation. I'm sure that some of those people can come up with a lot of ways to keep that kid occupied constructively, even if the hotel itself really can't.

ANOTHER THING! 7 years old? He should be in like 2nd grade! If he is on school break, maybe he can go to SUMMER SCHOOL! Is the school day still like 8am-3:30pm?

As for her being the best, etc... it doesn't hurt to let them know. Regardless of how good SHE is, HE can really spoil things.

Steve