Set Up a Mini Office for Your Kids
Every work at home mom knows that kids can be one of the biggest distractions there is. And this is never as true as when you have a toddler or a preschooler!
So, how do you keep your little one happy and occupied while you still manage to get some work done? Why not set up a mini office for your child and let him work beside Mommy? Kids love to imitate adults and you will probably find that your kids enjoy playing “office” even more than you would expect!
A mini office is not difficult to do. Scrounge around a thrift shop or garage sales for a little child-sized desk and chair and set it up beside yours. What you outfit the office with depends entirely on how you work. Your child will want to imitate you as much as possible, so if you use a fax machine throughout the day, consider a toy one for him.
You can find lots of office toys, even sophisticated “laptops” that help children learn math and reading skills. However, if you aren’t interested in shelling out the cash to buy a handful of expensive plastic toys, consider using things you already have kicking around.
An old keyboard and mouse that no longer work, along with a cardboard box monitor (Cover the “screen” with tinfoil or a screenshot printed from your computer), will keep small children just as busy as a fake plastic setup. In fact, they might even prefer having real life objects because then they are just like Mommy!
A mini office won’t stop your kids from distracting you, but it can certainly provide you with a few minutes of peace and quiet. Even if your toddler only spends twenty minutes pounding away on his keyboard, that’s twenty minutes you have to get some work done and we all know how precious that time can be when we are talking about toddlers!
I’m using this idea starting this week!