Working from Home with Kids in the Summer

Like many of you, I’ve embarked on the most popular, sometimes most dreaded time: the summer season.

While the sun pours down (hopefully) and we can enjoy hot weather (usually), many of us wish we could skip work altogether to soak up the outdoors. I’m from the Edmonton area, in Alberta, Canada, and we don’t get long summers. In fact, our summers are usually limited to 2 months, have a large amount of forest fire smoke, and are filled with either wasps or mosquitoes. This spring, we had more water than anyone can remember and, so far, there has not been a day over 25 degrees Celcius. Therefore, the sense that it will fly by so you’d better GET OUT AND ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF IT is ever-present.

Enter: the work-from-home parent.

Time seems to extend and shorten at the same time. Interruptions are ever-present. Dishes abound. The feeling of being on top of one another creeps up until your tolerance is gone, and words leave your mouth sharper than intended.

I am with you.

Here are 5 Work From Home Tips to get you through a summer with kids:

1. Weird hours are your friend - I’m not going to sugarcoat this one. If you wake up early, take advantage. If your kids are watching a movie, hand out popcorn and hop on that computer. Quiet night? Get to work. Kids away at Grandma’s for the weekend? You guessed it…

2. Take them somewhere they can let loose, and you can bring your laptop - I love the library, the pool, a rec center, a playground, or a park. The kids can roam around (mine are ages 9+ so it’s much easier for me to do now that they are older; however, I used to pay for the drop-in day care at my local rec center when they were younger). You can get some things done.

3. Work on your phone - I know. It’s not ideal. I actually hate having my kids see me preoccupied with my phone when I’m with them. Remember that quantity time isn’t always quality. I like to tell my kids that I have to answer a work email or message if we’re together, type away, then get back to what we were doing together. This is nuanced. I don’t have my notifications turned on for emails or social media apps, so I can choose when to address them when the time is right. I am not caught off guard by message notifications, so I am in control when I choose to answer one.

4. Tech is a tool - my kids know that they can watch a couple of hours of TV/play video games in the morning while I get my most important tasks completed. Summer is for relaxing, so why shouldn’t I let them do something they enjoy? It helps me too. I fully accept using show time/tech time as a tool for when I need quiet to have calls or concentrate.

5. Book a work night - on Wednesdays, I leave the house. My partner works outside of the home, so on a specific day (Wednesdays just happen to be mid-week and when I most need a break), he stays home with the kids while I work at a coffee shop or the library. If you have the means to do so, book multiple nights a week. I will admit, it’s not ideal to leave sometimes, especially not after a long day of already trying to squeeze in tasks/keeping your kids occupied. However, often it is the ticket to getting a bunch done.

Bonus suggestions:

• Stay accountable with friends. Sometimes it feels like you’re climbing uphill and not getting anywhere when you don’t have a set schedule or even if you have tons of tasks on your plate but can’t see an end to them. Listing off one to two things that moved the needle that day to a friend or colleague can help remind you that you did accomplish something that day.

• Let it go - as Elsa sings: let it go. The housework, the desire to create the most fun summer for your kids, and the need to be a good worker while juggling everything. You can’t. There is a limit to what you can produce with the time and resources you have. I’m constantly reminding myself that summer is temporary. It’s supposed to be fun. And it can be if you decide to settle for a little less than ideal. It’s ok. It will all get done eventually. And if it doesn’t? Usually, the things that can be let go of are the ones to fall off the list anyway.

• Say yes. Your kids want a popsicle? Yes. More T.V.? Sure. Get together with a friend? Go for it. This is not to spoil them but to dial in on what really matters. I’ve told my kids it’s free rein for freezies in my house. They just can’t have more than 2 per day. But at any time in the day, if they want a freezie, they don’t have to ask, so I am not interrupted. Now, do I want them watching television all day? No. But if I need to wrap something up, they can have a few more minutes.

• Rest -this one is hard, but it’s your summer too. Caring for others while working is a lot. Your tolerance level will fluctuate. Just make sure you’re doing the small things to care for yourself too. No, this isn’t a massage and bath type of self care message. But fuelling yourself with food, water, sleep, and a daily walk goes a long way. Decompress when you can with a movie and a book. Remember that while life is overwhelming, it is simultaneously not that serious. You’ve got this.