How I Make Working At Home With Kids A Success

Do you want to work from home but wonder, how can I do that with my kids around? You can and it is not as hard as many want to be work at home moms think. I have worked from home ever since my son was born and I recently started, Little Miss Julia. Five and a half years ago when my son was a newborn I could not bear having anyone else take care of him. Luckily, I had the luxury and flexibility to work from home. At first I was told you can’t do that with a newborn, then it was you can’t do that with a toddler and the story goes on and on. I did do it and still do it using some creative tactics with my children.

Balancing work and family is not always easy and in order to achieve success working at home you need to be flexible. When my son was an infant I would do work early in the morning when he was sleeping, during naps and when he was down for the night. It worked perfectly. As he grew and was awake a lot more I sat him with me on the chair and worked on my laptop. Needless to say he learned how to use a computer at an early age and at five and a half loves to play in Excel. In between work we had our fun doing whatever we were doing. I did not stress if something did not get done during the day because I knew I could do it early the next morning or at night. So many people say I can’t do that I would have to get up at 5:00 am. Yes you do and working from home requires some sacrifices like waking up early or staying up late. However, it is worth if you want to be home with your children.

My son is now in school full time and my daughter goes three full days. When they are at school I am at my office working for my family business. When I decided to start a business I knew I would have to squeeze it in between work, the kids and daily life. I found the perfect way to do that was to involve my kids in making the barrettes. I let them “help” design new styles, pick new colors and have them give me their opinion on my designs. I involved them in the website when it was being developed and everyday they want to check see if there are orders. I show them other sites that we are posted on and or reviewed on. I share with them if we got a new retail account and share in the general excitement of the business. I have found that by involving them rather then telling them I am working has made running a business from home easy to do. I will not say it is always a breeze and there are days they want nothing to do with it. However a simple explanation that I just need to finish this one thing and we can play usually works. Open communication and explanations go much further than “be quite I am working”.

I recently got a new retail account. It was at a store I did not want to go to but my daughter was insistent. We went in and I realized this could be a good account. I spoke to the manager and we got an order. I give my daughter the credit for getting that account and she is so proud and laughs whenever I tell her it is because of her we sold that store. She is only three and a half but she thinks she sold the barrettes and loves to talk about it. She now asks if we are going to sell barrettes today. Giving her some ownership of a success has made her want to go to stores rather then complaining we have to go.

I think the key to working at home with your kids around is to not exclude them from your activities but to include them. By doing so they are not going to feel as if all you want to do is work. I am sure that if I told my kids to be quite all the time and not to bother me my efforts of trying to run a business from home would fail. Rather than having excitement for what I do they would have resentment.

If you want to work from home, you can. Just remember to be flexible, show your kids what you do and try to involve them. Having them do the simplest of tasks like typing a number on a spreadsheet for you can go a long way. With time and trial and error you will find the pattern that works best for you and your children. Once you figure it out it can be happy and fulfilling for everyone.

Help, Your Daughter Won't Let You Brush Her Hair!!!!

You should have left you house five minutes ago; your daughters hair is a mess and your kids are obviously going to be late for school. Sound familiar? I have heard this story from many of my friends, have seen the results of this on many a head and have experienced it myself. However, for me, leaving the house with messy hair is unacceptable.

I recently dropped my daughter off at school and saw a child’s hair that was such a mess I wondered how the parents could let her walk out their door. This child truly had bedhead!!! Children learn from their parents and learning to take pride in yourself I believe is one of the most valuable lessons a parent can teach their child. It is hard chasing your little one around the room for five minutes and is sometimes easier to give up than to keep fighting. However, you don’t want to give up because you are shaping the future self image and respect your child has for themself and how others view them. Since everyone experiences this at one point or another, I thought I would share some of the tactics I have used to combat the battle.

When my daughter was very young she would fight me every time the brush came out. At 2 ½ I had enough and told her she could stay home alone if she did not let me do her hair. She ran away and I walked towards the garage and said “have a good day”. Needless to say I would never have actually left her but she did not know that and the tears started and she asked me to brush her hair. We went through that routine a few times and by the third time, after I had my son and dogs get in the car, she knew I meant business. Within a week of doing that she let me do her hair every morning.

Children want to feel like they have control over something. What better way to get what you want and let them get what they want then by letting them have a choice on the hair accessory they wear each day. Give your daughter the choice between two or three pieces to wear in her hair. If you let her help be in control of her appearance chances are she will be happy to participate, happy to make the decision and at the same time look pretty.

Certain things have to been done everyday but there is no reason it should not be fun. My daughter keeps me company in the morning while I do my hair and makeup. I let her “pretend” to put on makeup and get all done up for the day. She always asks if I could do her hair the way I did mine. Why not, what is a few extra minutes with the hair blower and a little hair product. These fun few minutes everyday makes her have an interest in her appearance, she takes pride in herself and we have fun at the same time.

It may be a fight that lasts only a few days or a month but you are the parent and you can and should win. Use creative tactics to get the result you want. Make getting dressed and brushing hair a fun, positive part of the day that will bring lasting lifetime value to your child.

New Online Shopping Mall and More......

Ever feel like you are going from one website to another to fill your needs? Wish you could have a one stop website that provides shopping, fun conversation, discounts, entertaining videos and how to instructions? Carla Phillips, mother of three, has provided an answer to this. She has used her expertise as an SEO professional and her knowledge of marketing to develop a website geared to helping small businesses sell their product and at the same time create an online community that can share information and good times. This fun site, WAHMPUB.com is a one stop shop that will meet all your needs. Designed with fun graphics, WAHMPUB.com has a shopping mall showcasing small businesses run by work at home moms and dads. Categories available are Oh Baby, Rugrats, Trendy Chics, Hot Mammas, Furry Friends plus many more.

After shopping for your little ones, yourself, your special man or your furry friend you can hop over to the forum which offers fun conversation, tips and helps answer questions on various topics and issues. It is a great way for moms and dads to share information and experiences as well as to just enjoy some friendly conversation.

Another feature available and unique to this site is the how to make stuff instructions. Ever wonder how to make paper, paint, candy or glass? By clicking on the how to button you will find out. Instructions are also available for many more items. In addition to this, one WAHM or WAHD is featured each month in an article highlighting their accomplishments and businesses.

One special aspect of WAHMPUB.com is the Super Mom Stimulus. This program is designed to help in need moms or dads on a given month. Starting in April 2009, a winner will be announced on one Monday of each month. The prize is a $200.00 check to help the individual get through the hard times. A mom or dad can be nominated by anyone who thinks they are deserving of this award. All you need to do is send an email to supermom@wahmpub.com explaining why this person deserves to win.

Visit WAHMPUB.com to experience shopping, stimulating conversation and many more fun features.