How Do You Work at Home with Toddlers Around

Organization is the key, I have a home daycare and I'm studying online to get my degree for Early childhood education, here is how I do it. Wake up at between 6:15-6:25
get ready for my day, put everything out that I will use that day for the children,then I start a load of laundry in the washer,after that I study online for 30minutes until the first child arrives at 7:30-7:45, I give her breakfast, wake up my daughter and dress, feed her. And then I do circle time, preschool curriculum and follow the schedule for the children, after lunch I read them a story and they nap for at least 2 hours.During that time I do a quick cleaning of the mess we made doing crafts,and eating, wash dishes,clean their bathroom,sweep & sanitize toys and set out the snacks for after they wake up and any other activity we might do later. And I put in the dryer the clothes that I washed in the morning, and finally I study online until they wake up. Again I follow my schedule with the children until my last child gets pick up at 6:00-6:10. After that I clean the playroom, sweep, mop floors,sweep and clean kitchen and living room, make dinner, fold the clothes that where in the dryer. And after dinner when my husband and my daughter have gone to sleep, I study for another 30-45 min. but not too late so I can get up in the morning again on time.
So like I said it's all about having a schedule and dividing the chores for each day, you can do one load of laundry everyday so it does not build up, clean bathrooms and dust another day, and so on if you let the work pile up it's harder to keep up and will take off precious time needed for other important things.
It's possible to finish school and stay at home and work, but you have to be consistent and gather help from your own family, for example your 6 year old after she finishes her homework can help with folding the laundry and putting it in it's place, pick up her room make her bed,your husband can spend time with the children maybe after dinner, play or read to the children, while you get some work done.
And if that's not enough time, you can always send the two little ones for two hours during the day to part-time daycare look for ones in your area that offer those services or hire a nanny for a few hours during the day. I hope this helps you, I know it can be difficult but it is not impossible!
Oh I almost forgot always take a day (Saturday/Sunday)to unwind,wake up late, no schedules during that day just and your family, go out to eat, or to the park/movies, and have fun, that day of relaxation will help you keep up your schedule during the week without going insane!

I am up at 4:30/ 5 am to web maintenance a few times a week- probelm is I am out at 9AM- no way I can stay up till 10AM anymore- but it helps me get 2 hrs in before she wakes at 7AM.. sometimes I work during naps too! Have Fun!
:-)

K

Will they work with you? I couldn't get anything done because my daughter always wanted to help. So I let her. She helps me clean with a wet paper towel and her toy sweeper. And when I am doing my school work or scrapbooking or whatever, she gets her own crafting box and has even started her first scrapbook. She has a likttle table set up next to mine and her own things so now she doesn't fiddle with my things.
I like the idea of getting some cleaning help. That was a God send when I had my home daycare.

Hi R.-

I have a friend whose husband is a stay at home dad and does cartooning at home. They have two children and he had a very consistent daily schedule with them. In that schedule they were allowed 1 hour of TV viewing followed by 1 hour of quiet playtime in their individual rooms. This gave him a two hour block in the middle of the day to get some work done. Now he had to stop in the middle to get them from the TV to their rooms and occasionally he would hear them calling for Daddy, but he stuck with it and they got used to it. The other benefit of this is that his kids are very good at entertaining themselves when necessary because of this schedule.

Good Luck!
K.

Hi R.,

I'm with you, sister. It is hard work. I am a photographer and I run my business from home. I am constantly torn between my priorities of my babies and customer service. My ambition and desire for money are also huge contenders for my time.

I am slowly realizing that:

1. I actually do need sleep.
2. There are a finite number of hours in a day and I am only one person. Thus...
3. There are some things which will simply not get done, at least not in any timely manner. That is alright.

My mom told me to hire someone to do some of the cleaning once in a while. A friend's mom, a marriage counselor, told me the same thing. She said that even if money is tight, your relationship with your spouse is more important and if you are both wondering why the other is not cleaning more then you either hire help or let your marriage go.

There was no way I could approach my husband about hiring someone to come in a couple times a month and do the deep cleaning stuff. I thought he'd never go for it. But he was totally fine with it. He said that if all the money I made taking photos just went to housecleaning then it was worth it because I was doing something I loved with my time instead of cleaning, which I do not love.

As for the kiddos, well, the only thing that works for me is to work while they sleep. Once my baby is 3 he'll go to school part time and then I'll be able to sleep more. Until then I wonder why I am up typing anything at 12:24 a.m..

Good luck to you and hang in there.

My husband and I run a small business from our house and it is very tough at times with a toddler running around. But I use nap time and late evening to complete everything. I also try to use our 8 year old to help. Some days when the phone is crazy she may not get her nap but we deal with it and go on. But I try to look at the positive side that at least I get to stay home with my kids. Good Luck and stay positive you can get everything done.

You don't mention if you have a nanny helping you while you're trying this....It seems impossible without one to me, but if you ARE trying to do it on your own, good luck. The best things you can do for little ones at home while you're trying to work is set up clear routines and "rules" for them to follow. If you have an office where you do your business, have a sign that's green on one side and red on the other and teach them that they can interrupt you in the office only when the green sign is on. Make a little mail slot place or drop box where they can leave you "messages" when they want to be with you but you have to work. Set up play areas that mimic mommy's work area and let them "work" too. Honestly, though, if you're trying to do this without any help, it doesn't sound realistic to me. Even if you hired a high school or jr. high school girl to come help you a couple hours every night after school, that would give you a chance of getting at least 2 good hours in (you might have to work out of Starbucks until they are used to giving you your privacy while in your office). Your "helper" will have to be good with lettting the children interrupt you when necessary within the rules and be sympathetic to how hard it is on a child to see mommy right there in front of them, yet not available to them....this can be an affront to their dignity at certain ages...the idea that you're in their reach and not reaching for them.....it's very complicated working at home with toddlers and other "ootches"...they are sensitive creatures and good at pulling heart-strings to make things go their way. Good luck. Write if I can help anymore....I've been a nanny for over 20 years and have done a lot of work with stay at home moms and dads and the issues they face with having their children in their work environment.
L.