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Children And The Home Based Business
- By Francina Smit
- Published 04/12/2008
- General Business
- Unrated
Francina Smit
Francina Smit is the owner of http://InHouseDollars.com and writes articles on various subjects regarding a Home Based Business. Go to: http://www.inhousedollars.com for more information.
View all articles by Francina Smit
Those who claim that working from home is wonderful because it permits them to be home with the little ones and still make a bunch of money quite obviously have never tried it. Sure, this idea is great while school is in session or junior is taking a nap, but the moment the kids are home it is next to impossible to conduct any kind of business. This requires many a parent to work late into the night in order to make up for lost time during the day and this is not at all in keeping with the smiling images that seem to populate the websites selling work from home programs.
While children and the home based business may be somewhat of an oil meets water situation, there are some ways to work around the situation:
1. Depending on the age of the child, get them involved. If you business is cake making, children old enough to stir or crack eggs should be given the opportunity to work on a small batch of dough. Sure, you might toss out the dough when junior is not watching (it might be hopelessly over mixed and the gluten malformed as a result) but the prospect of helping will make her or him feel less like they do not have your attention and more like they are integral part of whatever it is that you are doing.
2. Set boundaries and be willing to abandon them at a moment’s notice. While it is one thing to let your elementary school aged child know that until the big hand reaches the 12 you will not be able to play, a wailing child or one that is barely fighting
back the tears will not permit for productivity. See these boundaries you set as somewhat flexible. Conversely, if it is just a matter of a child not wanting to come up with ways of entertaining her- or himself it is wise to not feed into this behavior by enforcing the boundaries or providing ample school work opportunities that will keep the kids busy until you are done with the business at hand.
3. Enforce boundaries that are being broken by the nature of the business. This applies especially to those who will find seasonal ups and downs in their business, such as freelance tax professionals. While it is tempting to work around the clock to rake in the money, small children will not understand why you are home but not playing with them. Get your priorities straight and only take on enough work that will keep you fiscally afloat but not so much that your child is paying for it in time away from you.
4. Remember that while being home with the kids means caring for them and watching after them, it does not mean hosting a play date for all the neighborhood kids whose parents neglected to find babysitting. Of course, unless saying no is second nature to you, you might find that this is a hard road to travel and you will be wise to discuss this friends and family members who might be able to offer some insight as to how to deal with the request for babysitting while you are working.
Be sure you take the abovementioned into consideration before starting your Home Based Business. It definitely can work – it will just take some juggling – get good at that then!
While children and the home based business may be somewhat of an oil meets water situation, there are some ways to work around the situation:
1. Depending on the age of the child, get them involved. If you business is cake making, children old enough to stir or crack eggs should be given the opportunity to work on a small batch of dough. Sure, you might toss out the dough when junior is not watching (it might be hopelessly over mixed and the gluten malformed as a result) but the prospect of helping will make her or him feel less like they do not have your attention and more like they are integral part of whatever it is that you are doing.
2. Set boundaries and be willing to abandon them at a moment’s notice. While it is one thing to let your elementary school aged child know that until the big hand reaches the 12 you will not be able to play, a wailing child or one that is barely fighting
3. Enforce boundaries that are being broken by the nature of the business. This applies especially to those who will find seasonal ups and downs in their business, such as freelance tax professionals. While it is tempting to work around the clock to rake in the money, small children will not understand why you are home but not playing with them. Get your priorities straight and only take on enough work that will keep you fiscally afloat but not so much that your child is paying for it in time away from you.
4. Remember that while being home with the kids means caring for them and watching after them, it does not mean hosting a play date for all the neighborhood kids whose parents neglected to find babysitting. Of course, unless saying no is second nature to you, you might find that this is a hard road to travel and you will be wise to discuss this friends and family members who might be able to offer some insight as to how to deal with the request for babysitting while you are working.
Be sure you take the abovementioned into consideration before starting your Home Based Business. It definitely can work – it will just take some juggling – get good at that then!
