How to work from home and take care of your kids at the same time

Do you have to take care of your kids while working from home during quarantine for the COVID-19 epidemic?

CONECTA shares tips and testimonials from 3 men and 2 women, as well as a Tec technology and remote working specialist.

“Yes, you can work from home with children”, maintains Bertha Saldívar, director of Education Technologies at Tec de Monterrey.

“It’s sometimes difficult to balance your time, but you need to have frank conversations with them, establish rules, and see that there’s time for everything.”

1.- Make PLANNING your ally

Plan your day for both your and their activities, including “work” or responsibilities, but also recreational ones.

“Making schedules has helped me a lot, both for myself and for my children,” shares Adriana Gamboa, EXATEC Brand leader.

 

2.- Adapt your spaces

Find a suitable space for your work, but also prepare space for your children so that they can be playing or doing activities while you’re working.

If they’re little, it could be a nearby place so you can keep an eye on what they’re doing. If they’re older, find a place suitable for their own responsibilities such as studying.

3.- Give them challenges and things to keep them busy

Give them challenging tasks, educational activities, and games that keep them entertained and active at the same time as you.

“I gave my children an activity to do while I worked, and we would finish at the same time.

“It’s something I really recommend, especially for young children, who should always have something to do,” says Bertha Saldívar.

4.- Talk to them and establish rules

Talk to them and explain that it’s not like a weekend or vacation. You’re at home, but you have to work and agree on certain rules that they must follow.

“You need to have frank conversations with them to make them see that there’s a time for everything,” explains Saldívar.

5.- Keep to your schedule 

Make sure you’re as disciplined as you can be with the activities you planned. Your work schedule shouldn’t become more important than spending time with your family.

“As far as possible, try to establish fixed personal and family time, as if it were an important meeting,” says Alejandro Navarrete, national editor of CONECTA.

6.- Enjoy spending time with each other and use the advantages of working remotely 

Take advantage of working from home to do activities that allow you to be connected to work but also interacting in some way with your children.

“When I have calls where I don’t need to be in front of the computer, I take my children out into the backyard and get them to do physical activities, like jumping, dancing, or playing,” says Shel-Ha Bahena, Social Media leader at the Tec.

“If there are several meetings in a row, I take advantage of those 5-minute breaks between meetings to see what they’re doing or to start them on another game.  And if it’s over the phone, I put on headphones while I stay with them”, adds Luis Bueno, Strategy leader for CONECTA and Tec.mx.

7.- Give yourself breaks and alternate your work with your home

Breaks are generally very healthy whether working in your office or from home. All the more reason to do so when you’re with the family.  Give yourself 10 to 15-minute breaks every so often.

“You also have to move around. Get up for a coffee, do stretches, or walk around a little,” Bertha recommends.

8.- Take advantage of quiet moments

If there are quiet moments in your work or your children’s activities (e.g. naps for young children), you can take advantage of them to rest or do those pending personal or family tasks that you want to do.

“When I’m with my daughter, I take advantage of her nap times to do the important things on the day’s to-do list and spend the rest of the day attending to mail and other less demanding things.  This way, I don’t neglect work or spending time with her”, recommends Alejandra Gabuardi, brand leader for the Tec’s National Schools.

9.- Be creative and don’t stop playing with your children

Just as you dedicate time to work and creating activities for your children, spend time playing and having fun together at the end of the day or at strategic moments.

“You have to look for unusual activities such as a board game or doing an activity together, so you feel that you’re really doing something different and enjoy spending time with them,” says Bertha.

UNICEF has a list of different ideas such as:

• Invent a choreography or a dance.
• A fancy dress parade.
• Have a picnic somewhere in the house.
• A treasure hunt.

10.- Rest

Each day brings its own challenges. Items on the to-do list will still be there tomorrow and so will the family.

Make sure you rest and are physically and emotionally well, so that you can be with your children and at work.
 

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