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Toddlers and Business ~ How to Make it Happen
By MyMommyBiz Guest Author
Rachael Hoffman
Working from home while caring
for toddlers can be an extreme challenge. Trying to find the time to work
on your business, without depriving your toddler of the love and attention
they need can be hectic. Often times, work at home moms find that either
their toddler is spending too much time in front of the TV or that the
business is neglected. So, how do you get your business thriving while
still being a good mom?
The first thing moms with toddlers
need to do is be realistic. Unless you can find a way to add more hours
to the day, you simply can not work a full time 40-hour workweek from
home on your business with a toddler under foot. If you need to work your
business full time for financial reasons, you may want to look into daycare
or hiring a mother's helper to come to your home.
But working part time with
doesn't mean you can't work your business and make it a success. What
it means is that you need to set a realistic goal for how much time you
can spend on your business and be creative for finding time in the day
to do it. Below are some ideas you can use.
1. Give your toddler his
own office.
Most moms find that their toddlers want to be like mom as much as possible.
So, set your toddler up with a table and chair next to yours. Make sure
you have good office supplies for them. A coloring book, a few sheets
of paper, crayons and a pencil are basic essentials. If possible, an imitation
computer and play phone would be ideal office equipment. Then sit at your
desk and work beside your child. Remember that a toddler requires a lot
of praise, so be sure to look over at your child's work and compliment
it from time to time. Also keep their attention span in mind. Keep your
child's office time limited to a half-hour and only do this once a day.
It keeps your child from getting bored with the "game". Be sure
to reward your child for working and allowing you to work with some quality
time afterwards.
2. Choose your activities
during their wake time wisely.
When you toddler is awake, you'll often find that you can't get long periods
of time strung together to work. So, use their "awake" time
effectively. Doing the dishes requires a lot less concentration than optimizing
your webpages. Work on the household duties while your toddler is awake
keeping them involved. Pull up a chair and let your child watch you do
the dishes while singing their favorite songs to them. Chase your child
around while vacuuming. Sure, you may miss a small inch of the living
room while running down the hall yelling "I'm gonna get you!"
but your kids will love it. Let your toddler "help" you fold
laundry and ask them to tell you who each piece of clothing belongs to.
This allows you to get some of the household duties done while having
fun with your child. And more importantly, while giving your child some
time and attention from you.
3. Use naptime productively.
If you can get basic household chores done with your child while they
are awake, it should free up naptime for you to work on your business.
Set aside 1-2 days a week to use naptime for large household cleaning
jobs such as bathrooms and mopping floors. On the other 3-4 days, spend
it working your business. Most toddlers will sleep between 1 and 2 hours
a day, giving you some solid time to work uninterrupted. Also use this
time to make any business phone calls you may need to make. Be sure not
to get distracted. It is easy to have a friend call and eat up your work
time, or to sit down and get drawn into a TV show. Be sure to stay focused.
4. Let your toddler go on
an outing.
Once every two weeks or so, try to get a day to yourself to work. You
can have a family member take your toddler for the day if you have a family
member available to do this. Grandmas are usually the top choice. If you
don't have family nearby or family who are willing and able to do this,
try swapping alone time with another mom and offer to exchange play dates.
One week you take her toddler for the day and allow the kids some playtime.
Do not try to work on this day. Make it fun and head for the park or fill
up the baby pool in the backyard. Be prepared to spend the day chasing
kids. Then, the next week she can take your child for the day and give
the kids another special and fun day of playing. Meanwhile, you can spend
the day working without interruption at your business.
Above all, remember that your
child won't be a toddler forever. Being a mom only comes once in a lifetime.
Be sure to cherish your kids and work your business around them and not
spend time with them around your business.
In ten years you won't remember
your exasperation at only being able to work your business 20 hours a
week until they entered school. But you will remember the day they wore
that strainer for a hat and sang to you on that kitchen spoon as they
run out the door and ride their bike out of sight.
Rachael
is a work at home mom to two children and is adding a third to the mix
soon. She is an independent fundraising specialist for Home and Garden
Party doing fundraisers
for all sizes and types of groups. Rachael can be reached through her
website at http://www.fundraisingwithcandlefundraisers.com
or by email at rae@fundraisingwithcandlefundraisers.com
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