Help me figure out how to work from home with a toddler

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are bored at home, then why not look for a job you can do after your dh gets off and is at home. Or a weekend job. You could work at a retail store or Starbucks or a restaurant. My other suggestion is maybe you should take some classes so you can build your education and then once your child gets to regular school, you'd be trained in a more marketable field. Or have you tried to look at jobs at day care centers that may allow you to bring your child? Or you need to take your kid out of Montessori school in the mornings and find a job that will be full time and put him in daycare.

Op here. My son doesn't go to Montessori school. He goes to this type of Montessori parent child play space. It's set up like a Montessori/ Waldorf school. We have prepaid for the entire year. It was a gift from my parents. Play spaces are popular where we live because it's so hot most of the year. I really want to do something. I don't see myself growing working at Starbucks or a restaurant. Those are jobs I have in high school. I do work Sunday mornings at my church. I do have a job but it's only 5 hours per week.

What is your educational background?

What do you want to do down the road?

OP. I really don't know. I am very gifted at interior design but I don't see myself making a ton of money doing that. I was thinking about working at one of the online only interior design companies but again it probably doesn't pay much. My BA is in English and I also have a Montessori teaching degree for the 3-6 age group. I don't want to work with children though. I know that much. I honestly don't know if I can have another children myself. I used to be sooooo passionate about working with young children. I am so burnt out from children. Maybe one day I'll be one of those old ladies who hates children......... it's very bad.

[Anonymous]

OP just stop stressing out about it. It could work or it may not. Everything will be OK. It sounds like you don't need to work financially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP just stop stressing out about it. It could work or it may not. Everything will be OK. It sounds like you don't need to work financially.

OP lives in a 1br apt. with a toddler, and husband doesn't have a permanent job. I think bringing in additional income would be helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP just stop stressing out about it. It could work or it may not. Everything will be OK. It sounds like you don't need to work financially.

OP lives in a 1br apt. with a toddler, and husband doesn't have a permanent job. I think bringing in additional income would be helpful.

This, her husband's job situation sounds incredibly shaky. OP getting some sort of job that could turn into something stable and for longer hours once her kid is in school (especially if she only has one kid) that might have good benefits would be ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That arrangement sucks. Also, you say your hours will be 1-9 p.m. but in a later post say you don't know what your hours will be
I don't mean to sound rude, but frankly, I would put off the job until your child is in preschool, it sounds like you could get this job anytime. What did you do before you had your DC?

Op. My hour's could be anytime between 1 - 9 pm but I will have my schedule when training starts. I could work as little as 15 hour's per week to begin with. This job is seasonal with potential to be full time. I do have a very close friend who wants to take care of my son in the weekday afternoons. The job was not hard to get so I am confident that I could get it again in the future. I really do want to work. I am just a bit afraid I may be setting myself up to fail. I wish we had a bigger place. I really concerned about the noise from my son.

My recommendation is that you start with two or three days a week. You take your friend up on her offer to watch your child weekday afternoons on the days you work. See if your job has flexibility on which days you work. If so, then see if your friend is willing to set a schedule for 3 days a week 2 weeks in advance, so this week, it is M-W-F, next week is M-T-Th and so on. Or if your friend is willing to work a set schedule (say M-W-F every week). Then you watch your child in the mornings until you put him down for nap. When your child gets up from nap, you call your friend if she is willing to come pick him up or you take a break from work to take your son to your friend's house. She watches him at her place until your husband gets off work and he can pick your son up. Your husband picks up your son and brings him home and takes care of dinner for the two of them (you could join them on your "lunch" break, since you have to eat). Your husband watches your son until bed time. If she cannot watch him at her place, then you call her when nap is over and she comes over and you go into the bedroom to work and she watches him in the living/dining room area.

Set up your apartment with a network connection in the bedroom and the living room (I assume you mean one bedroom with a door and not a studio apartment). Use a laptop. When son is napping in the bedroom, you work out in the living or dining room. When he goes over to your friends house, you move into the bedroom. When Dad and son come home, you close the bedroom door and they have the living/dining room and kitchen. If you are not done with your work schedule when your son is ready for bed, you move the laptop back out to the living/dining room and son goes into the bedroom to sleep. You keep the door closed if your son is home and you are working so that you always have a door between the two of you.

Rather than a closet, I would recommend you try to get one of those work surfaces that fold up to the wall like a murphy bed. You pull it down and set up your laptop when you are working and you put it up and away when you are not. When your son is sleeping, you can work from the kitchen/dining room table, wherever you normally eat meals. You shouldn't be working there often, just during the end of nap and if he goes to bed before you are done working. Here are a few types of fold up desks that might work (and at different price points):

https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdx/rebrilliant-borba-folding-desk-rebr5473.html
https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/cancio-click-99-rectangular-floating-desk-cnio1002.html
https://www.hayneedle.com/product/southernenterprisesfoldoutconvertibledeskwhite.cfm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP just stop stressing out about it. It could work or it may not. Everything will be OK. It sounds like you don't need to work financially.

OP lives in a 1br apt. with a toddler, and husband doesn't have a permanent job. I think bringing in additional income would be helpful.

This, her husband's job situation sounds incredibly shaky. OP getting some sort of job that could turn into something stable and for longer hours once her kid is in school (especially if she only has one kid) that might have good benefits would be ideal.

Op. We could afford a bigger apartment. Right now we're saving for a down payment for a house. My DH has a really well paid job and we live in a low cost of living area. He may not have a permanent job but he does a have a 3 year contract.

[Anonymous]

Op, is this a WFH call center/customer support job?

[Anonymous]

Just accept low pay than people who commute to work, and then kiss up to your incompetent manager. Those are the necessary skills for the 21st Century.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP just stop stressing out about it. It could work or it may not. Everything will be OK. It sounds like you don't need to work financially.

OP lives in a 1br apt. with a toddler, and husband doesn't have a permanent job. I think bringing in additional income would be helpful.

This, her husband's job situation sounds incredibly shaky. OP getting some sort of job that could turn into something stable and for longer hours once her kid is in school (especially if she only has one kid) that might have good benefits would be ideal.

Op. We could afford a bigger apartment. Right now we're saving for a down payment for a house. My DH has a really well paid job and we live in a low cost of living area. He may not have a permanent job but he does a have a 3 year contract.

I think it's smart for you to work OP, for your family's financial health. My cousin was mostly a SAHM, working one weekend shift. However, her husband lost his job and she had to increase her hours. Now, a few years later, he still hasn't found another well-paying job, and has been working menial jobs; she's now the breadwinner. It's so good that my cousin kept her foot in the work force and was able to step up. Even if you're not making much to begin with, it might be worth it. And, better for your overall mental health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP just stop stressing out about it. It could work or it may not. Everything will be OK. It sounds like you don't need to work financially.

OP lives in a 1br apt. with a toddler, and husband doesn't have a permanent job. I think bringing in additional income would be helpful.

This, her husband's job situation sounds incredibly shaky. OP getting some sort of job that could turn into something stable and for longer hours once her kid is in school (especially if she only has one kid) that might have good benefits would be ideal.

Op. We could afford a bigger apartment. Right now we're saving for a down payment for a house. My DH has a really well paid job and we live in a low cost of living area. He may not have a permanent job but he does a have a 3 year contract.

I think it's smart for you to work OP, for your family's financial health. My cousin was mostly a SAHM, working one weekend shift. However, her husband lost his job and she had to increase her hours. Now, a few years later, he still hasn't found another well-paying job, and has been working menial jobs; she's now the breadwinner. It's so good that my cousin kept her foot in the work force and was able to step up. Even if you're not making much to begin with, it might be worth it. And, better for your overall mental health.

If op's job only covers childcare I don't think it would help. She can think of it as an investment into her career but really it's not going to help out her families financial health. I doubt her job would pay the rent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That arrangement sucks. Also, you say your hours will be 1-9 p.m. but in a later post say you don't know what your hours will be
I don't mean to sound rude, but frankly, I would put off the job until your child is in preschool, it sounds like you could get this job anytime. What did you do before you had your DC?

Op. My hour's could be anytime between 1 - 9 pm but I will have my schedule when training starts. I could work as little as 15 hour's per week to begin with. This job is seasonal with potential to be full time. I do have a very close friend who wants to take care of my son in the weekday afternoons. The job was not hard to get so I am confident that I could get it again in the future. I really do want to work. I am just a bit afraid I may be setting myself up to fail. I wish we had a bigger place. I really concerned about the noise from my son.

I think that, between your friend taking the kid during the day, having your husband handle the kid in the evenings, and working away from others in the closet, you’ve developed enough of a plan to get started. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The worst case scenario sounds like your kid is noisy and you get fired. But it was an easy to get, low wage job that’s actually happening at a relatively inconvenient time. And maybe I’m wrong, but it doesn't sound like the income will make or break your family’s budget. To me, the stakes seem pretty low. Just give it a go and don’t worry so much.

+ 1

Just try it OP. It could work out well.