Work From Home Tuesday: Summer Parenting
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Welcome to Work From Home Tuesday. At oDesk headquarters in Menlo Park, California, every Tuesday is a WFHT. With your kids home from school, you might be questioning your sanity right now. So, here’s some advice.
The big kid swap. Trade kids with a friend.
Here’s how this one works. You figure out which of your friends has kids that get along best with yours–or maybe just which of your kids’ friends you can tolerate the best. Then you arrange a swap. Once a week you have all the kids for about 5 hours. Once a week, they have all the kids for about 5 hours. And you know what this means–5 hours of a quiet house. If your kids are old enough and play well together, the five hours all the kids are at your house might be productive as well.
Give in. Change your work schedule.
If you’re used to working during days, this might be a tough switch, but summer only comes once a year. Temporarily, work minimally during the day and seriously at night. Spend time with your kids while they’re young enough to want to be with you. After dinner, put in a great movie and you can get back to work. If your spouse has weekends off, maybe you should start working weekends. It’s not ideal, but it’s short term. Say it together: They are only young once.
Consider day camp or hired help. For their sake and yours.
If playdates, kid swaps, and working nights won’t cut it this summer, think about hiring temporary help. Get a trusted teenager who will babysit the kids right in your backyard a few hours a day (for much less than the cost of daycare). Or, if you can , send your kids to day camps and summer camps. They’ll have fun and you can make money while they are gone. Sometimes you need to make a choice, and sometimes you paying for science camp is a better option than you screaming at them every 20 minutes: “Quiet! I’m on the phone!”
WFHT Recommended Reading
“Productivity vs. Balance During Summer Break” from Freelance Parent
“Planning Your Summer” from The Writer Mama
“How to Have Children and a Freelance Career “ from The Essential Site for Journalists
“One Runny Nose, Little Sticky Fingers and a PC Clinic” from Freelance UK
Ideas to keep your kids busy from Today Is Fun
Much like a divorced marriage counselor, my ability to dish out advice is not an indicator of my ability to implement it. However, having worked from home for over a decade, I’ve learned what works and what just creates more work. (Excuse me while I tell my children to be more quiet, so I can work.)
– Tamara
Media Designer
June 30th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Hey what great advice! I’m not a freelancer, per se, but do work from home, and having two kids around for the summer can be a challenge. I’m not sure how I could handle MORE kids for a day a week, but I’m willing to try – if parents will trust me with their ‘angels’.
Thanks for the advice, and for showing a light at the end of the tunnel. I may not dread this summer!
shawna
June 30th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
That todayisfun.com is a great site. Really good stuff there. I’ve been using it every day (with my babysitter.) Thanks for posting it, along with the other ideas here!
Jessica Pool
July 24th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Tamara,
Would you consider letting me use your post on my blog? It’s http://www.healthyhoustonkids.com. I think our readers would find your advice helpful. I hope you’ll consider us and we’d link to your blog/web site as a thank you.
Regards,
Jessica
Jeanne Bowyer
July 24th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Ah! This is fabulous ad completely hit the nail on the head! It is so hard to work from home in the summer, surrounded by cries of “he hit me with a hard toy!” and “He won’t let me play with his man-barbie” etc etc etc…
My approach is also to adopt a kind of “half-there” parenting style, where I separate myself in the middle, between typing whatever I’m typing (or designing whatever I’m designing) and keeping one ear open to dish out appropriate responses to complaining or bored children. It does also help to have a “go to” list of interesting activities to throw at them when you start getting the “I’m bored and I don’t know what to do…” comments.
All in all, it’s less than ideal, but, I keep telling myself, if they were in daycare they would get a much less than half-time attention schedule from care providers, for which we would be paying a high premium! It does help that they’re 6 and 7, and somewhat independent. However, this time next year, there’ll be a five month old in the house as well…
My approach then will be: put baby in sling, business as usual (for the most part)… Working from home is interesting and wonderful!
Tamara
July 24th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Thanks so much, guys. And, yes, Jessica, you may link back to this post. I’ve e-mailed you about this, so let me know if you don’t get it.
Today Is Fun is a great site!
Ahh … in another month they’ll be back in school and we’ll miss them. (A little. =) )
But truly, the benefits of being able to work and be with your kids when they need you far outweighs the struggles.
Jeanne, best of luck next summer. =) Just remember, babies nap. This is a good thing. A very good thing.