How to distract your kids while you work

I’ve been working since I was in my teens, with a short break while I was in college. When I had my first baby, I still had to continue all my normal duties, except with a newborn! I now have three small children, and still have zero childcare.

So in the past five plus years, I have learned to get creative! I constantly need to keep my kids occupied, not just while I’m working, but also when I’m doing general housekeeping and cleaning stuff. Here are some ideas I have for keeping my kids out of my hair.

1. Put on some kid’s music and let them dance. 

Veggie Tales, anyone? I can’t endure this every day, but it works once in a while.

2. When it’s warm, let them play in the yard.

I work almost entirely from my cell phone, so it’s easy to transplant myself outdoors.

3. Set up blanket forts and box mazes. 

Also use toy tents and collapsible tunnels!

4. Put them in the feeding chair with a water bottle with a mister.

This works on my autistic son very well. This product is genius.

5. Set them in a reading nook with some books. 

Of course, this depends on your child’s personality. My oldest and youngest love this.

6. Play doh!

7. Kinetic sand!

8. Coloring or simple cut and paste activities. 

9. Relocate them to a different room. 

My kids get bored in the same spot all the time. Alternate rooms and be sure to mix in snack time and craft time.

10. DIY water table

11. Give your toddler a sorting activity or something similar.

12. Give them an extended bath and work in or near the bathroom. 

13. With your older kids, encourage pretend play. 

14. If they’re old enough, let them try to wash the plastic dishes. 

My daughter is five and it takes her like thirty minutes to wash like six dishes, but she likes it and it keeps her busy!

15. Keep rotating toys and even rearrange your house so they don’t get bored. 

We recently turned a bedroom into a toy room. For days my middle child has been insistent on playing there without me.

16.  Have more kids.

This post is decidedly bereft of humor so I had to add that one. Actually though, my oldest and my youngest play together a lot, which helps tremendously!

It’s a legitimate challenge working with small children underfoot, but it doesn’t have to stress you out. Once you learn how to change things up and keep the little boogers occupied, it’s a blessing to be able to have them with you all day … well, kind of …