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WAH with small children
By Aurelia Williams | May 17, 2008
When I started my journey of working from home to earn extra income my youngest was just 4 weeks old. I decided to open a licensed day care then I landed an online job working at iVillage.
My children have been brought up in an environment where I’ve been working from home part time and just today I had a nice coaching session where my client was trying to gather help in creating a schedule for herself to work from home as she has her toddler underfoot.
I know this is a topic that many moms could value from so I wanted to share with you some of the tips that I spoke about with my client. If you have children in the home as you are working, you already know that some days it can be nearly impossible to get work done.
Here are just a few tips for you WAHM’s out there that can use some extra help with working at home with toddlers
- Develop a routine that you use for your children’s meal times, nap times, and play times. The key is to around and/or with your child’s schedule. When developing your routine be sure that on that routine is quiet time for you and your child to spent together where you are not working.
- Don’t be afraid to let your little on sit in your lap or sit beside you while you are working. I found that by doing this at times it can really help them feel as if they are a part of your daily life. Why not set up a small work station for your child next to your work station.
- Use that Timer - Set your time for a period of time and explain to your child that you need to work quietly and alone until the timer ‘dings’. This will help your child get used to your schedule, allow them to play alone and it will also allow you to get some work done.
Whatever your schedule is, I think that its very important to work around the natural flow of your child and the natural flow of your home.
Best of Luck!! I’d love to hear of some things that you’ve tried that worked for you.
Topics: WAHM Life |
May 18th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
fantasic advice!
it is very difficult to work at home with little ones.
i started working at home full time when my first born was 6 months old - i now have a 4 year old and a 16 month old and am pregnant with number three.
it won’t get any easier for me for many years i’m afraid
May 20th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Aurelia,
There you have it! Women all over can turn a simple hobby into a profitable business! I love your philosophy on running a home business, and the importance of keeping a balance between work time and family time (it can be tough!). You are also obviously aware of the importance of networking, and the internet’s ability to bring people together, and get your product out to a vast market. Once your business is online, the potential consumers are endless! I’ve recently taken my business online with the new Office Live Small Business by Microsoft, have you heard of it? It’s basically a one-stop shop that keeps all my business e-mails and invoices in order, I can check traffic stats for my website, and design professional webpages without any HTML experience (and I’m terrible with that stuff!).
There’s plenty of information on their website: http://smallbusiness.officelive.com
Oh, and I forgot to mention the best part! Not only does Microsoft host everything on your website, you get a very professional “.com” web address for free! I recommend you and any starting entrepreneurs check it out. I work with Microsoft, so if you or any of your readers have a question, feel free to e-mail me at k-rosenberg@live.com. I am always around and would be more than happy to answer any questions! As you know, the internet can be an incredibly powerful tool that can make lifelong careers out of simple hobbies. Thanks for the great read!
All the best,
Kimberly
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I give lots of credit to those of you who have little little ones and are still managing to work at home! My kids are 11 and 6 and it’s easier because they are rather self-sufficient, until my little one reminds me that I’ve been on the computer all morning. Not sure how I would have managed with a newborn or toddler but I’m glad to see others making it work.
September 18th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Aurelia,
Great advice! I am currently looking for a work at home job. I am going to college and my son just started kindergarten this year. You mentioned that you work for iVillage, is that work from home? How did you manage to get that job?