Todays Mompreneur

I have a Policy Council meeting tonight. As I was thinking about the reading I need to do so I can be somewhat aware of what we’ll be voting on tonight, the topic for this post hit me. As mompreneurs, it’s not unusual to find ourselves having to balance a schedule which keeps us working or handling something that has to do with our child’s schooling. For many women that might be homeschooling or, like in my case, staying active in the public school system.

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So you have a wonderful bundle of joy and when you work with your little one in your office, it’s not so bad. Well, at least it’s not so bad until they start crawling and trying to walk, then it gets dangerous. If you’ve already reached that stage, then you have already realized the importance of baby-proofing.

It is amazing how much one little baby can get into, but they can and it’s not always safe. Here are some ideas to help you be prepared:

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There is a lot of argument on both sides of the topic, but the reality is that you can be just as busy as, if not busier than, you would be in an office, when you work from home.

In an office you don’t have children asking you questions while you try to finish some task, at home you do.

Even if you started working from home to save on daycare, quiet is an essential piece to getting work done. However, you don’t need daycare to get that peace you require.

At a moment when you’re on a deadline or your business simply requires you to finish up a few extra things before the day is over, hiring a regular ‘friend’ to stop by and spend time with your kids can really help. Maybe this hired friend will play a game with your kids, or they’ll try out a new craft. If it’s a nice day, maybe they will keep an eye on your kids while they play outside. Depending on how many kids you have, $20 could easily get you at least 2 hours of someone else playing with them to keep them entertained.

Of course, just about every mom alive has felt that feeling of “mommy guilt” at least once. Don’t let that set in because you have someone that stops in on occasion to keep your children entertained. Instead, once the time is up, get up and go do something with your children. Whether they’re still working on a fun craft, or they are just playing with toys, get in there and join them!

Photo Credit: Ed Yourdon

Not all times are good for work. No matter how much we need to get done for our ‘business’, kids will not always cooperate with us. That’s why it’s so important to find something that will entertain them long enough for you to finish that order, tweak that website, or balance your books. It doesn’t matter what the task is, but you are bound to face this situation at least once in your life.

You need to entertain your child.

But how? From toddler to the pre-preteen stages, crayons hold a power that can render nearly anyone helpless. If you give a child crayons and a coloring book, they are bound to sit and color. How long they focus may be determined on their attention span or how much they actually enjoy the coloring process, but it will give you a few precious minutes to finish an important task or two.

However, that isn’t always enough. Children that are especially clingy or just want to be near you for a bit might not be completely satisfied. This is where we get out the childrens table and set them up right next to us. If we’re typing it out on the computer, your child still has the benefit of being next to you and ‘working’ just like you!

In the past, crayons and a piece of paper have been exactly what I needed to get my daughter to stop talking for a few moments. She’s a chatterbox, and nothing is harder than trying to concentrate through a long stream of chatter being sent directly to my eardrum. By pulling up a table, whipping out her crayons with some note paper, and setting her down, I have been able to accumulate at least 10 minutes of quiet at a time.