How to Spend Quality Time with Your Kids While Working
Working from home comes with difficulty to connect with your kids. Here's how you overcome this in order to be an actively productive member of the household.
Working from home, especially as a new parent, can feel isolating and stressful. Thankfully, there are ways to ensure you don't lose your sense of self or get disconnected from your partner. As the pressure on dual-income parents continues to grow, finding time to invest in your relationship and kids feels like a challenge. Emerging research suggests that investing time into adult relationships is critical for the health of individuals and society. Working from home affects how we schedule our day and how much time we spend with our kids.
As a result, many working parents struggle with finding quality time with their kids amidst new pressures at work and home. Luckily, there are plenty of strategies for balancing life as a remote worker while raising children. Read on to learn some useful tips that will help you find the balance between work and home life once again!
Finding time with your kids
It may sound counterintuitive, but the best way to find time with your kids is to create a schedule. By scheduling time for your kids throughout the week, you will make it easier to fit it into your life. Parents often feel they should constantly be with their kids, but kids also need time to be kids and enjoy their own interests. Establishing a routine that includes specific times for your kids will help you fit them into your life and make it easier to schedule other activities as well. If you can't find time with your children during the week, try setting up a special time for just you and them. These one-on-one times are great for building a stronger relationship with your kids and fostering a sense of connection that many parents lack.
Plan your work week and stick to it
If you are one of the many remote workers who are used to a traditional work schedule, it may be challenging to transition from traditional work hours to a schedule that fits into your home life. However, it is important to plan your work week, complete with your allotted hours, and stick to it. Whether you use a project management tool, a work scheduling app, or a paper planner, scheduling your work hours will help you avoid the trap of working more than you set out to. In addition, it will allow you to create time for other things that are important to you, including your family, friends, and your own personal interests.
Don't forget your alone time
If you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed, one of the first things to do is alone time. It can be hard to carve out time for yourself when you're feeling stressed and like you have a million things to do. However, taking time for yourself is important. For many working parents, it can be tempting to put your energy into your kids and your partner, but neglecting your own needs can create a vicious cycle of stress. Taking time to recharge can help you avoid burnout and ward off depression, which can be a real risk for remote workers who may feel more isolated.
Schedule playtime with your kids
It can be simple to get caught up in the trap of always being "on" for your children if you work from home. After all, you are the first and last face they see during the day. While you want to be available for your kids, providing structure and having "off" times can help you avoid burnout. If you have younger children, try to schedule playtime for when you are able to be "off" for a period of time. If your kids are a bit older, try scheduling specific times when you are available to talk with them.
Talk to your partner about how you're feeling
It may feel strange to talk to your partner about how you're feeling; they're not your therapist, after all. However, talking with your partner about your stress and concerns can be incredibly helpful. Having a sounding board to help you process your emotions and come up with strategies for dealing with stress can be incredibly helpful.
Committing to unplugging
If you're feeling overwhelmed and stressed, it is easy to turn to work to distract yourself. However, overworking can be harmful to both your productivity and your mental health. Instead of constantly working, commit to unplugging. Working from home can be a rewarding way to balance your career and family life. However, it can also be very stressful if you don't find ways to take care of yourself, and your relationship with your partner and kids can suffer as a result. Here are some strategies to spend precious time with your kids even when you're having a hard time at work, whether you're struggling with work-life balance or know someone who is.
Set aside time for things you enjoy
New parents often lose sight of their own interests and hobbies, which can lead to frustration and resentment. Make sure to set aside time, even if it's just for a little while, to do the activities you enjoy. For example, if you enjoy reading, set a timer for 15 minutes and read a chapter. If you enjoy cooking, plan a family dinner and create a menu with simple recipes that your kids can help make. These little things can help you feel like you are still a part of your own life while helping you parent more effectively.
If you find yourself feeling stressed or worried about the state of your home, it's easy to let these worries take over and start to consume you. However, it's important to set aside time to engage in the things you enjoy. For example, if you enjoy reading, try to set aside time each week to read. It doesn't have to be every week, but it's important to try to avoid letting these things fall by the wayside.
If you have more time, you might consider taking up a hobby or returning to an old passion like a language, sport, or skill. It's important to set goals for yourself and find joy in what you do. You might also want to consider finding a way to contribute to a cause you are passionate about, like volunteering. Your community will benefit from your skills, and you'll find that you derive just as much satisfaction from giving to others as you do from receiving.
Plan a weekly family day
Make sure to schedule a weekly family day, even if it's just a simple outing. Studies on health, happiness, and productivity suggest that unstructured time is important for reducing stress, finding joy in life, and maintaining strong relationships. Simply spending time in nature has been shown to reduce blood pressure and improve health, while walking as a family has been shown to reduce stress levels.
Have dinner together every night
Kids who eat dinner with their parents have been shown to have fewer behavioral issues, stronger social skills, and increased academic performance. This is true even when they eat dinner alone with their parents while they work from home. Simply setting aside time to eat a meal with your kids is important, but discussing topics at the dinner table that go beyond surface-level talk can be even more beneficial. Table talk that is focused on emotions, gratitude, and intentions can help your kids connect deeper with themselves and others.
Conclusion
For many parents, working from home comes with a certain amount of guilt and a feeling of being disconnected from their partner and kids. There are, however, many ways to overcome this and find balance in order to be a productive parent of the household. Above all, it is important to find ways to spend quality time with your kids, even when you are working from home.
This can be accomplished by setting aside time for things you enjoy, scheduling a weekly family day, and having dinner together every night. With these tips and tricks, it is possible to work successfully from home while still being an engaged member of the family. Visit Kidsactivitypage.com to learn more about how to spend quality time with your kids and give them all the love and attention they need.
