{"id":129711,"date":"2020-04-27T10:22:21","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T09:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=129711"},"modified":"2020-06-06T18:54:18","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T17:54:18","slug":"how-do-you-balance-parenting-with-wfh-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/how-do-you-balance-parenting-with-wfh-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you balance parenting with WFH? Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you struggling to keep up with work while keeping children fed, watered and entertained during lockdown? You\u2019re not alone. A recent Marketing Week and Econsultancy survey<\/a> of 1,990 of our cousins in marketing across the globe has found that almost half of those with children (46.6%) feel they are working less efficiently than normal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While 86.7% of those without children can work in a quiet space for at least five hours a day, just 59.1% of those with children under 16 are able to, with 60.4% saying their home situation has interrupted work-related calls.<\/p>\n

Concerns about job security are also higher in those with children at home, as well as feelings of \u2018deep stress\u2019, but it\u2019s not all bad \u2013 parents working from home also had higher levels of focus and being productive.<\/p>\n

If the balance of parenting while working from home is something you\u2019re struggling with, take some advice (or simple reassurance) from peers also struggling, and succeeding, through sometimes stressful home working situations\u2026<\/p>\n

This is part one, read part two here.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

1) Breaks, baths and Joe Wicks<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re attempting to stick to as strict a routine as possible, starting the day, like everyone else, with Joe Wicks (although what happens if he gets coronavirus? We\u2019re all counting on you, Joe) followed by reading, writing, some jumping on the trampoline and eating a lot of oat cakes and M&Ms. All while attempting to Slack and email, which is surprisingly easy to do, actually. This morning I \u201clistened\u201d to an entire book being read by my son while arranging an interview with a client. MULTI-TASKING.\u2019<\/p>\n

Lee Simpson, content and client account manager at Fourth Day<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018This is an alien situation for everyone \u2013 don\u2019t expect miracles. Compartmentalise your day. Dedicate an hour to clearing through emails and mapping out a to-do list \u2013 ideally done before the kids are up, if possible. Secondly, prioritise communication \u2013 establish a daily plan and inform your team; my husband and I split the day in two and take it in turns with childcare, so my team know when I am able to respond to emails or be on client Zoom calls.<\/p>\n

And take some time out. Once the kids are in bed, don\u2019t jump back onto your laptop. Take an hour to have a bath, eat a decent dinner, go for a jog or read a book \u2013 whatever helps you switch off. Burning the candle at both ends won\u2019t benefit us, our kids or our jobs.\u2019<\/p>\n

Chloe MacDonagh, senior account manager at Sellers PR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Leor<\/p>\n

\u2018The key for us with two kids (nine and six) has been a set routine. When everyone in the house knows what they have to be doing and when, competing priorities are easier to manage. The kids value having time off from parents and we value having time to focus fully on work. A simple shared Outlook calendar seems to be doing the trick!\u2019<\/p>\n

Leor Franks, chief marketing officer at Augusta Ventures<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m a single mum to my 15-year-old daughter, who was recently been diagnosed with learning differences. I feel completely inadequate to teach, however together we are learning via BBC Bitesize<\/a> and other online tools and I’m certainly developing my skill in patience.<\/p>\n

I have set working hours each day \u2013 8am until 2.30pm (during this time, my darling teenager catches up on her beauty sleep). After a well-deserved cup of tea, I sit down with her and we crack on with schoolwork for a couple of hours. By 5pm, I’m ready for bed!<\/p>\n

We’re a team of two who have managed to compromise and find a routine that works for us both. Prior to lockdown I hardly saw my daughter, so I am thoroughly enjoying spending more time with her.\u2019<\/p>\n

Jo Lowe, PR director at Spring PR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

2) Breaks for everyone, in fact<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018Breaking the day up into chunks helps, you\u2019re never going to sit down and do three straight hours of work, but you can do an hour, then have a break to do something with you child or get them a snack (which they seem to need all day long!) \u2013 that helps.<\/p>\n

Sit them at the table with you when you\u2019re working and give them colouring, painting or Play-Doh \u2013 set them a little challenge, too.\u2019<\/p>\n

Sarah Twyman, client services director at Smoking Gun<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018As a single mum of a lively two-year-old, running a PR agency in lockdown has been an eye opener. It took time to find our feet, but now we are further into lockdown, we have a little routine in place with things that seem to work for us both. I aim to limit screen time (although this doesn\u2019t always work!) and replace it with indoor exercise or arts and crafts. We also were introduced the Caribu<\/a> app for video calls with family and friends while the children can read interactive books or draw pictures on the phone with each other.<\/p>\n

I make sure I allow time for a good lunch and down time is key. When Zuri takes her nap, I jump on my Peloton bike \u2013 it\u2019s a must for my wellbeing and mental health. And if all else fails, an ice lolly and Paw Patrol is a great way to get through a Zoom meeting with clients!\u2019<\/p>\n

Lucy Dartford, managing director of We are Lucy<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

3) Using what\u2019s online<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re really lucky that a lot of the baby classes my daughter has been used to attending are now available online \u2013 TinyTalk<\/a> baby signing is her particular favourite \u2013 so we are able to keep some sort of normality for her too.\u2019<\/p>\n

Annie Brafield, account director at Cartwright Communications<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018I won\u2019t lie, it\u2019s hard work. I have a 10-year-old son, who only has a desire to play on his PlayStation and watch Netflix, so we had to set rules early on (we were self-isolating before the schools closed, too). We try and start everyday around 9am with #PEwithJoe<\/a>, like a lot of the country, and we found a great app early on called IXL<\/a> to help on the English and Maths he should be learning in year five. Who knew how much English had changed?? I\u2019m head of PR, and write content daily, but sometimes I just don\u2019t have a clue with some of these terms \u2013 concrete and abstract nouns, anyone?\u2019<\/p>\n

Claire Beaumont, head of PR at Igniyte<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018The Moshi: Sleep and Mindfulness<\/a> app has been particularly useful over the last few weeks. Goldie\u2019s Five-Minute Brain Break<\/a> has become my go-to when I need the children to simply calm down. The \u2018brain break\u2019 works as a five-minute wind-down technique \u2013 a great way to install moments of calm throughout the day for little ones, as well as allowing parents like myself to take a step back and refocus before the chaos inevitably starts again!\u2019<\/p>\n

Natalie Linder, PR & digital content manager at Luminous PR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4) Using \u2018local\u2019 resources<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018I had a little meltdown at the prospect of working from home as a single parent with a very demanding nine-year-old, 15-year-old and autistic 19-year-old. However, my 19-year-old sat down and constructed lesson plans for my nine-year-old and took over the childcare! He\u2019s teaching her about Egyptians as we speak, and I\u2019m at my desk!\u2019<\/p>\n

Martina Mercer, freelance PR and editor of Sunday Woman<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

5) Investing in the right tech<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018I run my agency remotely, so working from home isn\u2019t new to me, but having our littles ones out of nursery and with no in-laws available right now, it is a very different household. The main problems I\u2019m running into are the noise and time it takes to get back to work once I pop out of the third bedroom for a break. To help with these, I\u2019m using my headphones a lot more, which helps stop me getting sucked into tantrums or the boredom elsewhere in the house…\u2019<\/p>\n

Darren Kingman, founder of Root Digital<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Find more advice (and confessions) from other PRs balancing family with working from home in Part two here<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you struggling to keep up with work while keeping children fed, watered and entertained during lockdown? You\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":129723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7400,7272,7238],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129711"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129711"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130595,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129711\/revisions\/130595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}