{"id":1102,"date":"2020-03-16T08:31:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T15:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3.209.169.194\/blogs\/erin\/?p=1102"},"modified":"2020-03-16T08:31:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T15:31:55","slug":"working-from-homewith-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/erin\/working-from-homewith-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Working From Home\u2026with Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before I worked for SQLskills<\/a>, I worked for a software company, Hyland Software<\/a>.\u00a0 One of the best things about working at Hyland was the Child Enrichment Center (CEC).\u00a0 It was a day care until the kids were about 3, and then it was Montessori-based learning until the kids \u201cgraduated\u201d and went off to kindergarten.\u00a0 The CEC hours were 7AM to 6PM every work day, and the teacher to child ratio was about 1:8.\u00a0 And it was on site<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Both of my kids were born when I worked at Hyland; my oldest is now 15, my youngest is 13. \u00a0When my kids were babies, I could go down during the day to breast feed, and during the 7 years they were there, I could go down and visit them\u2026at any time<\/strong>.\u00a0 I knew my kids were safe, they were well-taken care of, and they were happy.\u00a0 I would tell the teachers, as often as I could, that the reason I could do my job so well was because they did their job so well.\u00a0 I could never put a price on that.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward almost eight years later and I have two teenagers, and there is a lot that\u2019s the same.\u00a0 When the kids are at school during the day, I know they are safe and taken care of, and for the most part they are happy.\u00a0 As such, I can focus on work.\u00a0 This changes when they are home.\u00a0 I know they are safe and taken care of, but now I<\/strong> need to make sure they are not bored.\u00a0 It is much easier do this when they are 13 and 15 compared to 6 and 8.\u00a0 But, I need to know that they have something to do, because otherwise I am not effective at work.\u00a0 If half of my brain is thinking about them, I am not fully focused on what I need to do.<\/em><\/p>\n

For the last two years, in the summer, they have attended a few camps, visited different friends, and are home.\u00a0 We make it work, and my days can be crazy because sometimes I have to take the kids somewhere, or they have friends at the house.\u00a0 If the next few weeks were going to be like summer, it would a routine with which I\u2019m familiar.\u00a0 But starting today, they are home for at least three weeks, probably more.\u00a0 Last Thursday the governor of Ohio announced that schools would be closing for three weeks to try and mitigate the spread of COVID-19.\u00a0 These next two weeks are spring break for my kids, and the third week they will \u201cattend\u201d school through online learning.<\/p>\n

Note: I fully support this move, but it does make working from home a bit more challenging than usual because there are no camps, and my kids will not be going to anyone else\u2019s house, and none of their friends will be coming here.<\/em><\/p>\n

What We’re Doing<\/h2>\n

In addition to normal working from home challenges when the kids are here, I have to make sure they have enough to stay busy (physically and mentally).\u00a0 And if they don\u2019t, I won\u2019t be able to focus.\u00a0 I\u2019ll admit that I\u2019m winging it, but here is the plan so far\u2026<\/p>\n

I know that the younger the kids, the more involved the parent has to be.\u00a0 I\u2019m fortunate mine can truly fend for themselves in terms of getting dressed, eating, etc.\u00a0 However, they are still teenagers, and they need rules, structure, and direction.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

First, everyone is operating on a loose schedule.\u00a0 We\u2019re starting with bedtime and wake up, because otherwise they will morph into complete night owls and then getting back on a \u201cnormal\u201d school schedule will be dreadful.\u00a0 So, in bed by 10PM, up by 10AM.\u00a0 I know 12 hours seems like a lot for sleep, but the 13-year old needs her sleep<\/em>.\u00a0 This is a time for her to catch up.\u00a0 It also means that I will get up early and have a few hours to myself to get work done.<\/p>\n

The 10PM bed time means that if anyone wants to watch a movie, it has to be started by 8PM.\u00a0 The rest of the schedule doesn\u2019t have specific times (this is their spring break, so they get this time off from schoolwork), but these are things I want them to do each day for the first two weeks:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Clean up their room (nothing on the floor, put clean clothes away) and make their bed.<\/li>\n
  • Spend at least 30-60 minutes reading or listening to a new book.<\/li>\n
  • Spend 30-60 minutes outside (if it’s raining, do your best). For my 13-year-old this means going on a walk with me and the dogs, getting in some of her training for spring track, or playing volleyball outside (with another family member).\u00a0 Inside, she can hit the volleyball against the wall in the basement.\u00a0 For the 15-year-old, it means playing catch (baseball) or hitting off the tee, or going for a walk.\u00a0 I told them if they want to go for a bike ride or a hike, we can do that.\u00a0 We will practice good social distancing when in outdoor public spaces.<\/li>\n
  • Make their own breakfast and lunch \u2013 this is a good opportunity to develop some new cooking skills. I will try to eat lunch with them when I can.<\/li>\n
  • Help with cleaning – vacuum, mop, laundry, wipe down door handles and light-switches, empty dishwasher, etc.<\/li>\n
  • Spend 30-60 minutes of family time (e.g. play a board game). This does not include eating dinner together, which we do anyway.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Individual Differences<\/h2>\n

    These are some ideas to get us started, but you\u2019re probably looking at this list and realizing it doesn\u2019t fill an entire day.\u00a0 I KNOW.\u00a0 The 15-year-old will spend a lot of time online playing games with his friends.\u00a0 For now, I’m ok with that because he gets social interaction and that’s good.\u00a0 In terms of internet bandwidth – for some people that may be a problem, but I have a separate line I use so it’s usually fine.\u00a0 However, there are times where I have kicked them off the internet and told they cannot play games or stream anything until I’m done.\u00a0 He\u2019s also started creating videos for his YouTube channel related to all these online video games.\u00a0 I\u2019m all about creativity and improving any technical skills, so this is fine in my opinion.<\/p>\n

    The 15-year-old also tends to hibernate in his room; I don’t know if this is an introvert thing, or a teenage boy thing, or both.\u00a0 But we have to work to get him to do stuff with the family.<\/p>\n

    I am most concerned about my 13-year-old because she’s an extrovert.\u00a0 She needs time with people.\u00a0 For her I\u2019m encouraging FaceTiming with her friends, and with my mom, as much as she wants.\u00a0 She has an art station where I expect she will spend a lot of time painting, and I plan to make time during the day to do something with her.<\/p>\n

    My Plan<\/h2>\n

    If you\u2019re wondering when I\u2019m going to get the part about how I work from home with kids\u2026this is it.\u00a0 I have<\/strong> to have a plan for them<\/strong>.\u00a0 My schedule changes daily.\u00a0 Sometimes I have a lot of calls or dial-ins, sometimes I don\u2019t.\u00a0 I am planning to write my schedule on our chalkboard each day, so they know when I am absolutely not available.\u00a0 I can also close my office door (which I don\u2019t do that often because there is always a dog that wants in or out).\u00a0 I will try to get as much as I can done before they wake up.\u00a0 I will also be working later in to the day, because I\u2019m expecting more breaks.<\/p>\n

    Again, even though the kids are pretty independent and can fend for themselves, having them at home is a distraction, even if they don’t need me.\u00a0 It’s a constant battle in my head.\u00a0 When school starts again, and they have to do remote learning, the days will change in that they will have a larger to-do list, and we will probably create more of a schedule.\u00a0 Most of the school work can be done independently, but my 13-year-old sometimes needs help because she is dyslexic.\u00a0 However, the help I have to provide is nothing compared to having a 7-year-old at home.<\/p>\n

    Lastly, even though I\u2019ve mostly talked about what they need, I am well aware of what I need.\u00a0 First, I have to workout.\u00a0\u00a0 I need physical activity for my mind as much as for my health.\u00a0 I will probably knock that out first thing each day (and I\u2019m no longer going to the gym, so that means a strength or yoga workout at home, or a run outside).\u00a0 Second, I need breaks from being with the kids.\u00a0 I am an introvert, and I need time to myself where I am not working.\u00a0 This will be my biggest challenge.\u00a0 I have a list of things I like to do: baking, puzzles, yard work, reading.\u00a0 I need to make sure that I block off 30-60 minutes a day for one of those things.\u00a0 If I\u2019m not taking care of myself, I won\u2019t be able to take care of anyone else.<\/p>\n

    If you work from home with kids, feel free to share additional suggestions below.\u00a0 If you have a blog, write a post!\u00a0 I am sure there are plenty of folks in this situation looking for ideas.\u00a0 Best of luck to everyone who is doing as much as they can while working from home in the current state of the world.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very unpredictable time, but we can get through it.\u00a0 Be kind, stay calm, and please don\u2019t be afraid to ask for help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Before I worked for SQLskills, I worked for a software company, Hyland Software.\u00a0 One of the best things about working at Hyland was the Child Enrichment Center (CEC).\u00a0 It was a day care until the kids were about 3, and then it was Montessori-based learning until the kids \u201cgraduated\u201d and went off to kindergarten.\u00a0 The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWorking From Home\u2026with Kids - Erin Stellato<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/erin\/working-from-homewith-kids\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Working From Home\u2026with Kids - 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