Work At Home United FACTS

It never fails. You're on the phone, and that's when your kids come running, demanding your attention. It's an all too common issue faced by many parents who are trying their best to make a living from home. Here are a few telephone tactics to help you get through at least one call (Two, if we're lucky, and can talk fast):

• Keep a box of toys hidden somewhere near the telephone, or your "work" zone. When the little one's tries getting your attention as you talk, pull out the phone-only toys. Change the toys often to keep them new & interesting for your little ones.
• A small table or desk near yours is also a great tool. Fill it with colors & coloring books, or writing paper and let them work right along side with you. Kids love to do things they feel are important and what could be better than working just like Mommy or Daddy?
• Set a kitchen timer for the amount of time you need to be on the phone, and then hand the timer to your youngster. Tell them to come and get you when the timer goes off.
• Let your little one clip coupons for you while you make phone calls. Keep the store circulars & advertisements from the Sunday paper in a box, along with a pair of safety scissors, and if you have one, a coupon holder. If you have older children, they can file coupons by product & weed out any expired coupons.
• Another, similar option, which my kids love doing, is to have them create their own "dream boards." A dream board is simply a collage of things that they would like to have. This is a great tool for you as well, to create your own dream board, and place pictures or even just words of things you are shooting for. Maybe it's a new home, or dream vacation, new car...etc. Having a little reminder of why you need to make those calls & what they will do for you & your family. My kids understand that their part of helping out & being able to get the many things we dream of is as simple as respecting my phone time.

And one last thing regarding phone time... If you have little one's, it's best not to try and schedule huge chunks of time all at once to do your calls. Rather than scheduling 2-3 hours all at once to do calls, break it up into 30-45 minute increments. And be sure to also schedule time just to spend with the kiddos. When you "pencil" them into the daily schedule, your kids will know that they too will have their own special time to have you all to themselves. But don't cancel those scheduled times to do work or household chores, even if you have laundry piling up & a sink full of dishes. It's one appointment that needs to be kept always. I mean, most of us are working from our homes so that we can be here for our kids & raise them ourselves & not the daycare lady.

Is there anything that seems to work well for you in regards to being able to make phone calls with your little ones at home?