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If you don’t have childcare for your young child or children and you work from home with them around, you’ll likely need to find ways to keep them occupied. I know I did — and still do.

When you’re working from home and find yourself in a productivity groove and really churning out the work, the last thing you need is an interruption from the kiddies. But for as important as your work may be, it can be extremely difficult — and at times impossible — to ignore the pleadings or needs of your little ones.

Here are a few of the techniques that I’ve used over the years as a work/stay-at-home dad as my son had grown from a little bundle of baby into a four-year-old man.

Tasks

Little jobs around the house can be a great way to keep your little one occupied. From organizing blocks in their room, to tracking down a new note pad for mommy’s work, kids can have a great time doing little odds and ends that can allow you to get some work done in the meantime.

Of course the duration of these tasks or projects can range significantly depending on the age and attention span of your child, and maybe even the day in general. However, sometimes even just a few minutes of peace and quiet can help you get your most important tasks of the day completed and out of the way before you have to go back to that full-time job of parenting.

Hire a Free Assistant

Depending upon the age and skill level of your child or children, they might almost be able to act as a little assistant to mommy or daddy. Most kids love to be helpful, and whether they really are or not they still like to “help” mommy and daddy. This means you could have a powerful little asset at your side. From bringing you a soda to emptying your garbage, there are a variety of little jobs you could have your child work on throughout the day.

Not only can this keep a child out of your hair for a few minutes but it can build great work ethic, and your kid can learn the value of work and your appreciation for their work as they serve as your “little assistant.”

They Work When You Work

You don’t necessarily have to be a taskmaster when it comes to keeping your child occupied when you’re trying to work, but I found that my son actually likes working when daddy works. Therefore, it was often beneficial for me to set him up nearby with his workbook, finger-painting or whatever, so that he was “playing grownup” alongside me as we were productive together.

Their Work Doesn’t Have to Be Our Work

When you think of having your child do some work when you work, you might be thinking of tasks, projects, and activities that generally accomplish something. But as long as a child is occupied and happy, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a task that really has any point at all.

For example, as a child, when my mother used to paint our house she would set me up to “help” her. Well, as a three-year-old, helping her mainly involved just staying out of the way and keeping out of the paint. Therefore, she gave me a brush and a bucket to help her paint the house. The difference was, my bucket was filled with water rather than paint. But to a three-year-old, I was happy helping and just being a part of the process.

Pre-packaged Projects

Having projects set and ready to go at a moment’s notice can help keep a child occupied with a relatively short setup time, thus allowing you to get back to work quickly. I found that if I had four or five relatively maintenance and assistance-free pre-packaged projects set and ready to go, I could get my son occupied and me back to work within just minutes if needed.

Some of my favorites were:

— Building blocks

— Balloon and fly swatter (it amazed me the amount of time he could spend whacking a balloon around the house)

— Play dough

— Computer spreadsheet (Word or Excel on an old computer. He loved “making money” like daddy does on the computer)

— Sorting and stringing beads and bead necklaces

— Educational video

The setup, breakdown, and cleanup for such projects was pretty simple, and kept my little guy busy and interested while dad got some work done.

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Disclaimer: The author is not a licensed financial professional. The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Any action taken by the reader due to the information provided in this article is solely at the reader’s discretion.