As a preventive measure against COVID-19 social distancing and quarantine have been established. This has led to many people finding themselves working from home and studying virtually. It has helped greatly in controlling the challenge that the world faces today: the coronavirus pandemic; but it has brought with it a new challenge for parents who work from home and also have their children at home. It is not limited to children there´s also people who have older adults and people with special needs to care for at home. But working from home with children is not a problem: but a new challenge to conquer. And that is why we will be sharing some recommendations below …

Establish Limits & Set Some Rules

It is extremely important to establish a work area, and that it is understood and respected by all members of the house. Ideally it should be in a room that is only dedicated to the office at home.

It also works if you put a desk in the living room, bedroom, garage, etc., and talk to your family that this will be your new work area. And when inside it, that they respect the rules that you determined. With children it is good to establish mom/dad´s space VS. baby´s space, repetition is a good way to do this. Every day take the child by the hand to his room (or the designated space where you watch him) explain to him that this is their “baby space” and that you will go to work. If there are other adults in the house you can arrange it so you both take turns in caring for the child.

Rules go hand in hand with the “work perimeter” and apply inside it and around it, they are tailored according to your needs for work. These could be that there is silence at all times, knocking on the door before entering, respecting the schedule established by the employer (breaks / lunch), no pets, etc.

If your children are receiving school online, it is also advisable that you establish for them their own study area and their own ground rules. And as much as possible coordinate lunch hours to share and eat with family. Because in the end this is a benefit that allows us to be more with them!

Ask for Help

When you work in the office and you are away from home as parents you always have to have a person in charge of taking care of the child. To work from home with children, the ideal is to have the same system. So if there is another adult in the house, you can establish a caring schedule taking into account the work schedule of each one. Now that quarantine has begun, it is difficult for someone outside the house to take care of the children. But one option for this is for a family member to stay in the house. In order to comply with prevention measures and help parents work.

Aside from asking for help from relatives, children’s teachers are also at home and mostly available! If your child is a baby and was attending kindergarten/pre-school, you can contact their teachers so they recommend activities to do with your child, what videos they have seen in class to follow up on what they have learned, and even techniques of teaching so that you can stimulate your child to learn while you work.

Alternative Entertainment

When you are working from home with children without being able to leave you have to find creative ways to entertain them. These can vary depending on the age range; those who are older such as a teenagers may be interested in the free courses offered by Google, which are even certified by international online universities!

The middle-aged between 5 – 10 years old may be interested in crafts. For them you can put a tutorial on YouTube of something that you have chosen according to their level and leave them doing these. There are even pages of artists that due to the pandemic have resorted to giving free classes through Facebook Live. Another way to do this is to contact music, dance and art teachers that you know so that they can teach the child through the vitual platform Zoom. And at the same time support a local small business!

With babies it is necessary to change forms of entertainment since their attention span is shorter, but at the same time it is not necessary to use many things. You can take turns with the toy you give him, as opposed to putting them all at once, so he won´t get bored so quickly. There are also educational apps, designed by educators so kids don’t just watch youtube videos all the time. And remember: the internet is a source of knowledge in our favor where you will always be able to find many more alternatives according to the taste of your children.

Many Costaricans are facing this new challenge of working from home with children. But just as COVID-19 is being fought bravely, we parents at home are going to conquer this new challenge with order, help and creativity. And remember the most important advice that can be given is that: children are not an obstacle in your path, but the engine that lets you move forward.