School holidays can be a challenge for work-at-home parents, especially those who are flying solo. Working from home allows people to manage schedules around school hours and vacation time but sometimes there are unavoidable deadlines or meetings. Having nearby family members at hand is great for keeping the kids busy and in touch but what if that sort of support network isn't available?
Vacation care is one way of getting some free time to make that conference call but sharing the load with the family of a school friend is a great low cost alternative – and good fun. The kids might spend one day at their friend’s house and another day at their own. Whilst it may not be quiet with the extra kids around, they will be occupied. Besides, it’s just good karma. So do the lighter work on those days when the troops are at home.
Achieving Work and Family Balance – Set Some Boundaries
When the kids are at home during busy work times, it’s wise to set some boundaries.
- Don’t close the home office door unless it’s really necessary. Make it clear that when the door is shut, the kids need to keep the noise down.
- Allow the kids to book some blocks of time in each day’s work calendar to hang out or play some games together, or give them a timer and when the buzzer goes off, it’s pens down.
Ideas to Keep the Younger Children Busy
Younger kids need more attention, obviously, but a few good ideas can buy some much needed time to get a project completed.
- Keep a stash of special craft supplies that only come out at times like these. Make sure there’s nothing requiring supervision and there are no pets around that may end up painted or with stickers on their fur.
- Write up a list, or draw pictures, of items to find in a treasure hunt. This works really well outdoors but can just as easily be done in an apartment, or inside on a rainy day.
- Give them a kid-safe camera and a dress-up box. As long as they don’t require help with the wardrobe changes, they’ll have great fun using their imaginations and showing Mom or Dad the outcome later.
Ideas to Keep the Older Children Busy
There are some great ideas to keep older kids occupied too during school holidays.
- If the weather is good, set up a tent in the yard.
- Give them a digital video camera and let them play movie director for a while. It exercises their creativity, they learn some new skills and there might even be some very funny film to watch together later.
- Clear some space in the home office and “work” together for a while – reading, drawing, building Lego – it doesn’t matter, really. Sometimes being together in the same room is all kids need.
Working from home doesn’t have to be a drama during the school break. Stick to a rough schedule and plan for play. After all, a good balance of work and play is what freelancing and home-based business is all about. And anyway, there’s always working late into the night to make up for it.
Aprill Allen - Aprill is a freelance copywriter and founder of Best eBooks for Writers, living in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, ...
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