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Working from home has its benefits: from setting your own schedule to spending more time with your kiddos, remote work provides opportunities never before seen in the workplace. However, those opportunities might become a little more challenging during the summer because the kids are out of school…and with you 24/7! Trying to focus on work while ensuring your children are happy, healthy, and entertained is more than just a full time job — it’s two full time jobs. 

That’s why we turned to our exclusive Facebook group and asked moms: how do you juggle work and spending time with your little ones during summertime? Our fellow moms provided some great tips that we will now share with you.

Establish A Daily Schedule

When the kids are in school, everything runs on a schedule. 6am wake up call. 8am start of school. 10am math class. 4pm school ends. 6pm sports. Although the children have free time within that schedule, there is still a schedule. During the summer, all of that goes away. This can lead to boredom for your child, and stress for yourself as your child looks to you for entertainment.

The lovely moms in our Facebook group suggest sticking to a daily routine. This does not have to look like the strict school schedule where every hour something is happening; instead, you can let your kids know that after they wake up, they have chores to do. Once those are done they can play games or with toys for an hour. After that they can go outside, to the pool or take a nap. The important part here is that kids know what to expect for the day ahead…and so do you! You can tailor your work schedule to this new summer routine so that both you and your children are happy. Additionally, while this helps you with your work schedule, it also helps the kiddos transition more smoothly back into the routine of school once the summer is over.

Leverage School Programs and Community Resources

We all know with kids that it takes a village! Use the resources available to you. This might look like finding a summer program from your child’s school that specializes in something they like to do such as theater camp. Or, your local community center might have ongoing enrichment programs they can attend. There are also general community events that are kid-friendly all across the United States that you can find by searching “event calendar in [your city]”. This will connect you with local calendars that can help you plan out your entire summer.  Some unique events we’ve attended that we recommend are church camps, tea parties in parks, and even butterfly festivals.

Turn Your Projects into Learning Opportunities for Your Kids

Kids are like sponges, and they love to soak up what their parents are doing. Your child sees you working from home, and they are often curious about what you do. They also love to help! Create a dedicated workspace for both you and your child. Perhaps for your kiddo you give them a fake keyboard to type on or a phone to answer. They can play along depending upon their age.

If they are older, get them involved in your work and give them a project. If you work in marketing, you can ask them to create a design for social media. They can do this digitally or on paper to be scanned. In fact, one of our own employees had their child make a logo which was scanned onto a computer, our employee added a little flair to it, and then sent it off to a company who chose to use it! As a bonus, our employee split the logo creation fee with their kiddo…who promptly turned around and spent it on ice cream.

Ask for Help

If you find that you are struggling this summer with work and kids, don’t be afraid to ask for help. You can ask for tips from other stay at home moms in our Facebook group, join a local mom group for help, or even just ask family and friends for their advice or maybe even their time to babysit a little. 

Working from home during summer break can be both fun and stressful. It helps to have a support system in place you can go to with questions, and it also helps to have a plan established ahead of time. Maybe as part of that daily schedule we talked about, the kids know every Tuesday they get to spend the day at grandma’s house so you can get some work done.

Did we miss a tip you think we should share? Reach out and tell us your secret to working from home during summertime!

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