Keeping kids happy while you work at home

Take it from someone who was working on email newsletter deadlines six days after her C-section with her baby on a Boppy next to her on the couch: you need a strategy or at least a few great tips to be able to handle the work-at-home mom (WAHM) life. I thought this article had some very good ideas, and I say this after nine years of WAHMhood.

Before I post the link, my own tips include these:

• Be sure you spend some quality time with the kids an hour or so before any conference calls where silence is critical.


• Set the expectations early about when silence is needed and when interruptions are OK. Have a hand signal or a sign right at hand that each child knows means the equivalent of, "I love you, but you must wait until I'm done with this call before I can answer you or else I'll lose this client and you won't be able to go to gymnastics camp. Thank you! Did I mention that I love you?"


• Train with your li'l darlings so you're not trying desperately to communicate and teach a rule while dealing with a deadline or phone-based crisis. By the time my daughter was four, she was able to understand the signals and wait patiently (most of the time).

The article I'm mentioning here is from HomeWorkingMom.com and is called, How to Have Happy Kids while You Work at Home. Enjoy! Then get some work done.

What are your best WAHM tips? I'd love to see your pearls of wisdom in the comments below.