work at home

How to Run Your Home Business When You Have Kids
By Shawn Stoik

Running your business from home is rarely a simple task, especially while raising a family at the same time. Between your children and phone calls and the daily household chores, making it through a regular "work day" can sometimes be a real challenge.

I can tell you from my own personal experience, as a stay-at-home parent, that concentrating on your work while you are working from home, for long periods of time, can sometimes feel impossible. But if you learn to adapt your work habits and environment a bit to accommodate the specific needs of both your work and your children, your productivity will be greatly improved.

There are several things you can do if you have children at home:

First of all, with older children and teenagers, they are the least likely give you any challenge with your home business. As a matter of fact, they can really be a great help in taking care of certain household needs while you are working so that you will have more time to focus and dedicate yourself to your business. Be sure that they understand the importance of your working at home so that you can be near them when they need you and so that you will have money to take care of the house and your family. Give them a reasonable work schedule to keep them busy and be sure they understand to respect you and your work schedule as well.

If you currently have an infant in the home, your circumstances will be different. But thankfully, babies do quite well with schedules and routines. You will not be able to expect them to work around your routine, so you will need to work around theirs. Babies are simple; they eat, poop and play, but what they do the most, thankfully, is sleep! So the smartest time for you to work will be while they are sleeping. If you are able to get them into a predictable routine for eating and sleeping, you will be able to accomplish quite a lot for your home business.

The other age group that you may have at home, may be toddlers. With toddlers, it is also very important to keep them on a basic daily routine for their playing, meals and nap times. Be sure to work these specified times into your work schedule and stick to them. Toddlers do not always respond well to routines, they can be unpredictable and they will need your attention, so be prepared to take hourly breaks to give them the attention and love they need. This will help them to get used to the routine and respect you and your need to work. They will be happy and you will still be able to get a great deal accomplished.

It isn't always easy to work from home when you are a stay at home parent, but it is definitely worth it and so rewarding. You will be able to experience all the joys of being home with your children while still making money and operating a successful at-home business. My online business allows me the privilege of working from home and still being an integral part of the lives of my children and I would never trade that for the world!