7 Tips To Keep Your Children Entertained While Working From Home

The pandemic has changed our lives in a significant manner. With professionals working from home together with children learning from home, there are many new things that need managing. When the kids are home, getting work done does seem like a huge challenge. Your children might have a school schedule to follow but even if it is in place, there are days when their plans fall through, but your work schedule is not something you can play around with. On such days you need easy and quick entertainment options to keep your children occupied while you work from home. It doesn’t have to be difficult or stressful, and here are some helpful tips to keep your work on track in a sane, efficient way, and the kids busy and happy!

1. Schedule playtime

It is important to have a designated time set aside for kids to play. It should be when you are most productive and can make the most of the time yourself! You can keep a few toys for your kids to play with only during this time. If possible, you can also arrange a play date and send your kids to the home of other working parents who will watch the kids. It will be a great change for your children and will keep them occupied. And then of course, return the favor!

2. Have a separate space

You and your children need a designated space to work and play, respectively. It should be a space where you can be creative and work. If there is a playroom in your home, let the kids use that space while you work. Make it a point that you work from the same place every day and your kids use their play area for play every day. Create a home office for yourself that will allow you to focus. When you separate the space, it also makes it convenient to draw the line and keep work and play separate while setting and maintaining the boundaries.

3. Use technology

All children love their screen time though you must use it very very wisely, if you choose to use it at all. (My kids had very little screen time growing up, basically only on long airplane trips!) Some kids may like to play video games while many others enjoy a movie, a little bit of screen time once in a while is something to feel guilty about, but do keep it under control, and you must plan their screen time well. If there is no other option consider giving them access to the screen when you have an important meeting or presentation so they will not disturb you. You will get an uninterrupted block of time to concentrate on your work. Of course if this is not the case, and the kids do interupt, take note that the screen time is not a good idea!

4. Craft Bin

Craft projects can be fun for kids of all ages and can spark imagination in them which could result in hours of quiet time for the parents. To keep your kids happy and engaged, simply collect craft supplies whenever you can and stash them in a basket. It could be things like paper, glue, glitter, crayons, feathers, fabric scraps, cotton balls, and paintbrushes your kids can use to create works of art. For older kids, and if  you own a cricut, you can find a lot of great stuff on Crafting Besties to make custom t-shirts, for starters!. When your kids need something to do, and do not show interest in doing anything else, let them work on the art projects. Do not judge them for what they make, rather give praise for making! Make a mini gallery on a clothesline and clip up their latest creations. Of course, I always encourage going big, with cardboard boxes, so why not keep them busy building a rocket? Provide good scissors, duct tape and aluminum foil, ah yes and a big black marker.

5. Puzzles and scrapbooks

There were days before technology when scrapbooking and puzzles were cool. We spent hours doing that in our childhood, and they are still relevant today, just introduce them! Bring on some board games, puzzles, magic tricks, and scrapbooks to keep your kids excited and engaged.

7. Scavenger hunt

Another way to keep your kids busy while you focus on work or talk on the phone is to engage them in a scavenger hunt. You can create a hunt based on a theme, like jungle hunt, pirates looking for a treasure, or a mystery adventure. Set clues and let your kids search the house looking for objects. It will keep them occupied for a long time while you will be able to complete the work. You can also write out a list of the objects that they need to find around the house and they can tick them off as they find them. For older kids get them to write passages of a story as they go through the hunt, and then assemble them at the end as a mini book!

There are advantages of working from home and one of the biggest advantages is that you have your kids with you. However, there could be days when you will have to adjust the remote work schedule and everything might not go as planned. For these days, you need to be more than flexible. You can consider these activities and keep your kids engaged and engrossed so that you can focus on work. It is crucial to find a balance between work and play. Do not neglect your kids or make them feel unwanted. Set your schedule in such a manner that you can both spend some time with them and get them involved different activities without you, for the time period when you need to be working.