SHELLEY HEAPHY for The Parents’ Voice

We’re in the middle of week three of working and schooling from home here in Shawville, It sure feels long some days. Last week I talked about helping our children be successful with online learning. Today I hope to . . .

give some parents working from home with little ones in tow some ideas on how to keep them busy.

A few weeks ago, we had to contact a company for something, when we dialed up the number to speak to a representative what did we hear in the background? Screaming kids. I giggled at the fact that the women was talking to us as though nothing was happening in the background, she didn’t mention it and neither did we. She just continued as professional as ever. How did we feel? We thought this woman was a superstar trying to balance putting her kids to bed and handle customer service calls at the same time. We certainly didn’t blame her or feel annoyed hearing kids in the background. If this sounds familiar to you, chances are that the people you are dealing with either on the phone or on Zoom meetings feel like we did. Take some pressure off yourself in knowing that the whole world understands what you’re facing right now.

I’m certainly no expert on this topic but I’ve been looking up ideas and talking to parents who are currently going through this, so hopefully some of these suggestions will work for you if you find yourself in this situation.

So how do you fill your little ones day while you try to work? Here are some tips I’ve found:

1. Try to organize your day around when your little one is sleepy. Start your day earlier when your spouse is home or your child is still sleeping. Use nap time wisely as more uninterrupted work time. Work after hours when your spouse is home. These are ways to break up your day so that you can have some efficient work time without your kiddo in tow.
2. Have some independent games and toys available for your child. This may mean reorganizing your living space to include a play space for your child near your work space, if you don’t already have that. Some toys that may keep your child occupied are Playdough, building material (blocks, straws, solo cups), busy bags* see below for example, acitivity books, art material (foamy stickies, crayons, coloring books, and whatever else you have on hand), reading books, sticker books, etc.
3. Be organized for the day. Pre-prepare the day’s lunch and snacks. Have fruit and veggies cut, easy snacks at hands reach, and be able to grab lunch out of the fridge or quickly reheat it. If your child is in diapers have a change station near your workstation, have diapers and wipes on hand for quick changes.
4. Try and be adaptable. If your workspace can be portable work outside while your child plays in your yard, this is so good for a longer nap time.If your child gets some fresh air sleep will come easier and work time will be beautifully uninterrupted.
5. Plan breaks ­— try and spend quality time with your child on your breaks so that they can feel recharged from having had your attention.
6. Lower your expectations on everything. Remind yourself that your working conditions may be less than favourable so give your

self a break as much as possible and remember that and take a deep breath. Are you able to do exactly what you want to be doing with your child? Absolutely not. Remember that. Is your house going to be in order at the end of the day? Nope. And breathe. You cannot accomplish everything, you are one person. Breathe.

6. At night congratulate yourself for getting through another day. Last spring my brother-in -law went through working from home for six months. He amazed me. He works sales and had a two, four and six year old in tow. It was hard. He struggled. He made it and so did my nieces and nephews. Will it be easy? Heck no. Someday, hopefully not too far away you’ll realize you got through the hardest months of your parenting life and you’ll be proud of yourself.

   *Busy bags: Busy bags are simple activities stored in a bag and ready to use for toddlers or preschoolers. To make a busy bag you simple put the materials needed for the simple activity in a bag that is easy to grab. Some ideas of busy bags are: colour matching games use coloured popsicle sticks and felt pouches the child has to match the sticks to the correct color of pouch. A second idea would be put a piece of Velcro on both ends of popsicle sticks and have them Velcro the sticks together to make letters, roads or anything else. There are literally hundreds of ideas to peruse, choose the ones your little one will be most interested in. You can find a ton of ideas by searching busy bags and the age group of your child online.

   My hat goes out to all of you who are struggling with these very trying times of parenthood. Online learning, working from home, extended time at home waiting on COVID test results, all of it. Each day is a new beginning for us and our children. Remember that on the tough days, you’ve got this.