Resources and Strategies for Stretched Families
In these are unprecedented times, we are praying for all families. We trust that the Lord will sustain us and draw our families closer to him and one another. The Lord reminds us . . .
“A three-ply cord is not easily broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12
14 Strategies For Working From Home Around Children Without Endless Screen Time
Joy Pullman, Reprinted with Permission for The Federalist
So far, approximately 26 million of the nation’s 58 million K-12 school children are affected by school closures stemming from worries over the Wuhan virus, according to Education Week. Working parents, who are the vast majority of U.S. parents, are thus left to cover both childcare and work for somewhere between two and four weeks. Since coronavirus most significantly affects the elderly, having grandparents or an aunt or uncle fill in is probably not the safest choice.
So what is a working parent to do? I’ve worked from home surrounded by children for the past decade. Yes, we have arranged our family life to have daddy or a babysitter with our kids during most of my routine work hours, or for me to work while the kids sleep, because focused work is much better than distracted work.
But I’ve had my share of babysitter cancellations, quarantines due to family sickness, my husband unexpectedly needing to put in extra hours, going on the radio while the toddlers are awake, and work butting into what is supposed to be family time because of breaking news or a sick colleague. This is just life with kids. We’re also a low-screen family because we don’t like what screens do to our brains and relationships. My kids average 1-2 hours on screens per week.
So here are my top tips for managing work and kids without just handing them the Kindle or iPad for the next month.
1. Give the Kids Attention First
I have learned this basic principle the hard way: Fill your kids’ attention cups before you switch your attention to work. If you meet your kids’ needs first, they will be less likely to nag and pester you while you are working.
Make sure they’ve had the meal, snack, and diaper change they need. Get them going with an activity. Spend 30-45 minutes reading them a book, playing a game, getting into a craft, or working a puzzle. Meet their relationship and physical needs before you try to get some work done. Trust me, this will make for a better day.
2. Do Your Most Focused Work When the Kids Sleep
Anyone who has had a baby has heard the adage for newborns, “Sleep when the baby sleeps.” Well, if you’re working at home while caring for kids, work while the kids sleep. Work before they get up in the morning, work during naptime, and work after they go to bed at night. Yes, it’s disruptive, but yes, it helps you pack in needed work hours while spending less time distracted in the presence of your children.
If your children are older and do not nap, institute a two-hour afternoon quiet time. Give them a few options for quiet activities and tell them they may not pester you until quiet time ends. Then enforce the quiet rule sternly. My husband tells the children, “Don’t call me unless you are bleeding or someone is stealing you away.”
3. Switch Between Kids and Work in Solid Chunks of Time
You will do both your best work and your best childcare if you can group each item into a larger chunk of time, as opposed to trying to work and watch kids at the same time. This helps you focus on whatever it is you’re doing, which helps whatever that is to be handled much better.
An exception to this are emails that require little real attention (i.e., that do not require very careful writing and thinking). That you can stick into the corners of your time if you want, although doing so will still produce some distracted brain effects from task-switching, so I try to reduce this if possible but will do it on a very busy day.
