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Working At Home with Children

© Leslie Truex

Many parents view telecommuting as a way to save on childcare costs and avoid the hassles of selecting a qualified provider. However, working at home doesn't necessarily relieve parents from the necessity of childcare. In fact, many employers require employees to disclose their childcare plans when working at home.

Working at home with children can be difficult. Between helping them find something to do, fixing snacks, refilling drinks, locating missing toys and generally being a parent, there is little time to work. Whether by necessity or employer demand, many telecommuters find that childcare is still required.

The amount and type of childcare telecommuters need depends on the age of their children. Infants and pre-schoolers in particular need much care. It is not feasible to think that one can fit a 40-hour workweek working during nap times. On the other hand, one can, as a work-at-home parent, take advantage of sleep times and thus, need less childcare than in an office job. Here is a sample schedule:

Work 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.

Baby at Daycare (Work) 8:30 a.m. to 12:00p.m.

Lunch with Baby 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Baby Naps (Work) 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Spend Afternoon with Baby

Work (as needed) 8:00 p.m. to ?

For school-age children, the need for childcare generally diminishs or at least lessens. Most school days are 6 hours with some time for bus rides. If the school day is not long enough to get work done, many telecommuters hire a teenager to come by after school to help.

There are a host of childcare options available to work-at-home parents. These include:

1. Morning pre-school programs. Some programs take children as young as 18 months old.

2. Play groups or babysitting co-ops; usually operated by member parents.

3. Hiring a teenager or retired person to come in for a few hours a day. This allows children to stay in their own environment and the telecommuter to work without providing supervision.

4. Work at night. Many parents work while their children are sleeping at night or early in the morning.

If you have been counting on a work-at-home job to solve your child care problems, you should rethink the problem. As an employee, your employer may ask for a childcare plan before allowing you to work at home. But even if you do freelance work for several companies, you will want to be able to develop a schedule that gives you uninterrupted time to work without sacrificing too much of your sleep or other personal time. Fortunately, by working at home, you have more flexibility about when you will work and when you will need childcare than if you worked in an office.

The copyright of the article Working At Home with Children in Telecommuting is owned by Paym Bergson. Permission to republish Working At Home with Children in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.