Being a mom is a full-time job. Still, there are so many moms who have an actual full-time job and somehow manage to juggle in between the two. But, what happens when you’re a work at home mom? Is it an advantage or not? Even though you get to spend more time with your kids, it might take the toe on your job and prevent you from performing at your best.

It’s important to separate your personal life from the professional and it can be tricky with the kids running around your “office”. In order to create a harmonious atmosphere in the house during your work hours, you need to find ways of keeping your kids busy. Of course, we’re talking about productive activities which benefit your child’s development and help him spend quality at-home time.

Take a look at these suggestions for keeping your kids busy while you’re working at home.

1.    Arts and Crafts

Kids love being allowed to express themselves. Fun artistic projects or DIY activities can keep them busy and develop their creative thinking.

You can set up and Arts & Crafts area in your house. You can equip it with:

• children’s desk and chair
• blank sheets of paper
• crayons, watercolors, air dry clay
• children’s scissors
• glue

It would be best to assign projects to your kids, so as to make sure they create with a concept instead of randomly scribbling and wasting the materials.

Make a routine:

• before starting to work, assign a new project
• check the progress in an hour
• in the end, make sure to give your child positive feedback and acknowledge the effort

Keep your kids in the artistic mood and you’ll make them happy and amused for a couple of hours.

2.    Nature

Spending time outdoors is not only exciting and refreshing but also crucial for your child’s health.

The best way to keep your child interested in being outside is to set up a playground in your backyard.

The playground doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It just needs to be your child’s playing area, where he feels like the king of the castle. You can easily set up:

• a sandbox
• a tent with a blanket
• ropes hanging from trees
• a simple tree house

Of course, there can be a swing or a slide, if you’re budget allows it.

Here’s a great idea to inspire you: you can set up a music wall for your kids to play on. It’s nothing more than different kinds of pots, dishes and metal objects nailed to a plank. It’s interesting and probably a great way for your kids to remove any negative emotions.

So, while you’re inside working, your child can be busy for an hour or two, enjoying the fresh air and being active.

3.    Animals

If you have an only child, he’s constantly going to be in need of attention and socialization. Sometimes you’ll be able to find him a play-date, but sometimes you won’t.  This means he’ll find it hard to leave you to work and not interrupt you.

Well, there might be a solution: a pet!

Yes, we know pets are a lot of work for you. But, keeping in mind how much your child gains by having a pet, you might want to reconsider your no-pet rules.

You can make an agreement with your child:

• while you work, the pet is his responsibility
• he feeds it and takes it outside
• he plays with it
• he takes care of it

It’s a great way to keep your child absolutely busy while you’re going through your emails and finishing projects. Giving him a responsibility will evoke the sense of importance and he’s probably going to dedicate his full attention to the pet.

May we suggest a dog?

4.    Assistance

If nothing works and your child is still eager to spend time with you, you can hire him to be your assistant.

That means there’s no messing around and the job needs to be taken seriously.

Of course, that’s what you tell him. In reality, you just need to come up with fake work-assignments that you “just can’t do on your own”.

For example, tell your child a client needs you to draw 17 stars on a paper and color each of those differently. You can’t do it, and you need help.  You’ll be surprised by the eagerness of your child to give you a hand and contribute.

5.    Quality movies

Watching TV is not the worst thing in the world.

Of course, you want to avoid having your child in front of the screen all day but it’s perfectly fine for him to watch a bit of TV every now and then.

Make sure you choose quality movies which will enrich your child’s vocabulary and add value to his knowledge.

Here are just a few of my personal favorites:

• Educational Kindergarteners Films
• Go Diego Go: Animals Around the World
• Sid The Science Kid
• Babe
• Liberty’s Kids

• Disney movies
• Finding Nemo
• School House Rock
• Toy Story
• Documentaries and History Movies
• The Men Who Built America
• America the Story of Us
• Arctic Tale

Make sure to talk to your child after each movie, to see what he thought about it, what he learned and whether he enjoyed it or not.

Even though you might feel bad about finding ways to keep your kids busy, you need to be aware you have no choice. You have to work in order to provide them with everything they need and secure they have a normal, healthy life. You also need to understand that your kids aren’t suffering if they just have something exciting to do.

Therefore, stop feeling guilty and get to work. Set up play areas inside the house and your backyard. Think of assignments and projects and keep your child active and creative. Make sure you check on him regularly and once you’re done working for the day, you can talk about all the things he’s been up to since that morning. Oh yes, and think about the dog, will you?