Pandemic tips. Working at home with kids
Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash
Recharge your optimism, OK?
Working home with kids around? It became a social and economic routine theses days, turning from niche to mass phenomena. Although in March last year, NBC News reported a continuous increase of moms staying home with their kids, the last months we registered a boost in the number of parents working from home due to #stayhome measure worldwide in the context of COVID-19 crisis.
We asked colleagues in our team to share their challenges, fun times and tips in the time of coronavirus isolation.
And if you take more salt and pepper in your reading, then check out the funny-and-real pics at the end of the article.
Room lockdown. No kidding…
Francesca, our energetic MobileRecharge.com colleague, a very energetic mom, suggests creating “if possible a dedicated work space so that kids understand that there is limited access. :) ”
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
Yet, working at home with kids on the other side of a door may be a challenge when there is not enough space to share, or kids don’t get it from Home War I.
Should I mention that I set up my desk in my daughter’s room (yes, her room has been requisitioned, based on the state of emergency), so all my conference calls have Anna and Elsa pictures in the background? Try having a serious discussion under these circumstances… (Cristina, MobileRecharge.com team)
Split work & play. Don’t mix
Kids get it faster than we think…
Mom? It’s hard to work from home, while, the others in the house watch cartoons and play, right? (Francesca’s kid)
Obviously, working at home with kids around gets anyone in a split mind mood. So, if Picasso made it through beautifully in his paintings, we can do it too… The need to become a little more flexible is the key here, and making the unmatchable compatible, also…
Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash
Home office + kid(s) is a challenging and difficult combination, both for parents and kids. Kids don’t get the attention they desire and are often rejected and the parents have to deal with often disruptions, take longer to do tasks and have to pay extra efforts to concentrate. But work needs to be done right? So here are some tips and tricks that I appeal to, hoping to make this period less hard for all the members of the family. (Francesca, MobileRecharge.com team)
Adjust working hours
“Working at home with a toddler might seem like Mission Impossible. The only problem is that Tom Cruise is missing in action. It can be very challenging, but if you split the roles between parents, set specific timeframes for playing, meals and sleeping, you may have a chance to survive it.
For example, I wake up at least 1.30h in advance, it gives me time to answer urgent emails and deal with sensitive tasks early in the morning. I get another only-me-time around noon when my husband feeds and puts her to sleep. Besides this, it’s a semi-olympic relay race 12/24. Who has the relay baton, who’s gonna get it next :)” (Michaela, MobileRecharge.com team)
Again, morning hours seem to work for most parents working at home. Francesca from MobileRecharge.com team has a point in this too.
Adjust you working hours is possible – work while the kids are napping – it’s quiet, or wake up earlier in the morning.
Get some stuff done at weekend
Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash
It’s not a legal piece of advice, but some people’s practice… Maybe you can identify recurrent problematic issues in your routine. Then you may take a second to find a key to unlock stress around them. Here’s an example…
Cooking is a constant issue, so what I do is to cook Sunday a few meals to be sure I have them the first days of the week ready to be served and not deal with cooking, and the rest of the working days I cook easy recipes that don’t take time, and I cook in the evening to have them ready for the next day; some chicken nuggets and french fries can do wonders once in a while. (Francesca, MobileRecharge.com team)
Take turns with your partner
Take turns with your partner/husband or anyone who you stay home with to sit with the kids or deal with chores (cooking/feeding/taking the kids to sleep) when needed. (Francesca, MobileRecharge.com team)Working from home is something I’ve always dreamed of trying, just not with a 2 year old around. :) However, it’s worked out great since my partner can entertain our son and mommy can hide in her “office” and work (almost) uninterrupted. (Teo, MobileRecharge.com team)
You have a team meeting, they’ve got cartoons
To keep kids busy and entertained here are a few activities my girls do:– painting, drawing– online stories to listen– create then a little office too and pretend they are working as well, saved at least 30 minutes. :)– when emergency calls in – like a meeting or an urgent task/phone call – cartoons have always saved the day. Don’t feel sorry as long as there is a win win situation.– rest at night!I know it’s hard and tiring. But it’s important to stay safe, keep the family safe. Enjoy as much as possible this time with your dear ones, even though it’s hard sometimes. Everything will hopefully be fine soon. (Francesca, MobileRecharge.com team)
https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-quarantine-parenting/
#StayHome & top up your mobile online
If you realize you’re running out of credit while working at home with kids, and ;leaving the room means no-work & yes-war, count on MobileRecharge app or the website to make the top up in seconds. Just tap “Recharge now” if you run out of SOS-take-kids-off-me credit. ;)
