9 Simple Ideas For Keeping Kids Busy While You Work

9 Simple Ideas For Keeping Kids Busy While You Work

When you work at home, you sometimes have to work with kids underfoot. Right now, with summer vacation in full swing for most kids, you might have not only little ones scrambling around, but the school age kids as well.

Here are some ideas to keep them busy:

Of course, how you keep them busy will depend on the ages of the kids:
* Ask them to create a play in secret that they can perform for you when done. Give them access to old clothes, paints, poster board and old cardboard boxes so they can create their dress-up characters.

* Have them sit beside you with a computer and toy phone and “play” work. Young kids will feel like they are a part of your daily work routine since they can see what you are doing too.

* Have special toys that they only get to play with while you’re working. Give one at a time, not all at once. Keep them hidden away in a closet until you need them. These could be special games that they can play together, simple craft activities or maybe even Lego building sets.

* For your older kids, have them write out ideas of activities they can do without your help on scraps of paper and put them in a jar to pull out when needed. For your younger ones, you can help them write out their ideas. Then make a game of pulling out one.

* Set up a craft station near you. Keep paints, markers, paper, crayons, ribbon, glue and any other craft supplies your kids will enjoy using to create special art for you. Use your imagination. Old cardboard egg cartons, yogurt cups that have been washed and paper towel tubes all make great imagination starters for budding artists.

* Have special coloring books or activity books or books hand only for this time. Keep these in your desk just for when you are working.

* Give them “homework” to do. Your preschooler can practice their letters and numbers, while older kids can help with some of your work tasks, like filing papers.

* Ask them to wrap their toys up as presents and hold a birthday party for their favorite stuffed animal.

* Have an older neighborhood child come over and play with them. Offer to pay them in some form. Make sure they understand you will be working and they need to entertain the younger ones. (Implement this strategy when the corona virus scare is past)

*Bonus Tip: Keep a stash of videos for those extremely hot or rainy days. And have their favorite books and games loaded onto your Amazon Kindle too.

Working at home with kids can be rewarding but it can be a challenge as well. Take a proactive stance and be ready with ideas to keep them busy. That way you can still be productive and they can have fun too.

How do you keep your kids entertained while you work? Leave a comment below.