Help me figure out how to work from home with a toddler
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| I accepted a position working from home from 1pm - 9 pm. This position is 3 weekdays and weekends. I have a 2 year old who still take 2-3 hour naps and my husband is home by 5:30 pm. I am actually more concerned about the 5:30-9 pm chuck of time because my toddler can be really loud and we live in a 1 bedroom apartment. I have to work from our walk in closet. It's the quietest place in our apartment. I wish I could rent an office space or something. I have to be directly connected to the internet with a cable cord though and office space in my area is very expensive. Help me brain storm ways to make this work. I really want to make this work. My 2 year old goes to sleep around 9 pm- 10 pm. He's a great sleeper. |
Anonymous
| Op. I left out the most important part! I will be on the phone the majority of the time so the background needs to be quiet. |
Anonymous
| Op. Please move this to the work forum. Sorry! |
Anonymous
| Are you allowed to work without childcare? Most companies would not allow for your arrangement. You need a nanny. |
Anonymous
| Wow, I really can’t see how you’d focus and give your work your all with dinner, the bedtime routine, etc. going on. You would have to have a STRICT no disturbance policy and with a toddler that sounds almost impossible. Otherwise, be prepared for poor performance. |
Anonymous
| You get a sitter while your H is still at work and close yourself in the bedroom or the closet. No way can you expect your 2 year old to self entertain from nap until your H comes home. |
Anonymous
| Umm give up on the quiet part it's not fair to your child. Just work through the noise. |
Anonymous
|
Get a nanny from 1-5:30 or a daycare.
I don't know what to tell you. Toddlers stop napping between 2-3 years often. They also need attention during that time. Do you think the rest of us didn't want to not pay for daycare? Even if you got your kid to sit in front of the tv for 4.5 hours, is that healthy? My inhome daycare would give you a discounted rate for half a day |
Anonymous
| Have your husband take toddler out to library/dinner/park from 5:30-7. Then you can work out of the closet for a few hours.. Work with him on figuring out a quiet bedtime routine from 7:30-9. But having had a kid in an apartment, it can get loud, so make sure you know how to work your mute buttons well. But honestly I don’t know how you’re going to manage the 1-5:30 part. Your toddler will maybe be asleep for part of it but the other hours will require a lot of care. You need a sitter or something. |
Anonymous
| Also if you’re in DC, check out WeWork and Cove which has flexible office space rentals. |
Anonymous
|
I agree that for the weekdays you need a sitter or mother’s helper. You can try to time naps so that toddler goes down at 12:45 and then get a teen from the neighborhood to take him to the library or park or play quietly with him from 2:30-5:30.
As for soundproofing, I would put padding or bubble wrap on the walls and door, cover the crack under the door and set up a white noise machine. Also try using a headset with a microphone so that it is picking up sound right near your face and gets less of the ambient noise. But I agree that there is no way a toddler won’t require time and attention for 3 hours, let alone be quiet that long. Could you find an afternoon preschool 3 days per week? |
Anonymous
| Use childcare for the first part. Then, move up his bedtime. It’s getting dark early—you can put him to bed at 7/7:30. |
Anonymous
| This is completely unrealistic and not fair to your child. Get a sitter. |
Anonymous
Op. I haven't heard of afternoon preschools? Unfortunately my salary is very low. Childcare would be all of my paycheck. I am not sure if it makes sense to work but I really do not like being a stay at home mom. |
Anonymous
| This doesn't seem feasible. My son dropped his nap right around your kid's age. What are you going to do if that happens? |