Anonymous wrote:Lots of college kids and high schoolers looking for work , hire them duh

This is against the entire point of the telework intention. It’s not a snow day.

Don't ask, don't tell.

Prioritize mental health. Get adequate sleep. Exercise. Eat well. Don't drink too much. Do something that brings you joy.

I am so grateful for this thread. I have been very anxious the last few days wondering how to make this work being a single mom, no family in the area, with DS who is almost 4 and whose preschool closed. My boss allowed me to telework. I was very honest and told him that I would do some work here and there, and would bring little one in to work when I need to drop work off, but he should definitely not expect 8 hours of work. He told me I need to use annual leave if I am not putting in an 8 hour day at home.

I also plan on setting the alarm at 4 am, and also maybe getting in another hour during the day. DS can play by himself, but not for hours on end. I might consider reaching out to other parents where I live or getting a high school student for 1-2 hours, but also want to wait until we know what the virus will do.

Anonymous wrote:Let them sleep in.

Breakfast then cartoons and toys for a couple hours.

Let them play outside while you monitor from inside.

Lunch and cartoons.

Online school work followed by reading or coloring.

Snack

Playtime outside

Cartoons

Dinner

Husband should go into office super early to get home earlier than usual and give you time to work.

This. Basically, the eighties

Anonymous wrote:I'm a manager of a division and agree with all the suggestions above, including the simple reality that we're all going to have to deal with interruptions, flexxed schedules, and lower productivity. My kids are older but I know I'll face some distractions as well. There will be barking dogs and crying babies in the background of conference calls. That's okay.

My approach is that we're all in this together, no one is going to have it "easy" (some of the most anxious people in my office this week were millennials w/no kids), and we are all going to be as considerate and helpful to one another as possible.

You sounds like a great boss.

I have 5 teen nieces and nephews and all have been booked full time for the next few weeks. they are happy - they make money and the parents have a reasonably cheap babysitter.

I am not sure how my 15 year old nephew will do with full time babysitting but he will soon learn! He is looking after a 7 and 9 year old!

I'm a manager of a division and agree with all the suggestions above, including the simple reality that we're all going to have to deal with interruptions, flexxed schedules, and lower productivity. My kids are older but I know I'll face some distractions as well. There will be barking dogs and crying babies in the background of conference calls. That's okay.

My approach is that we're all in this together, no one is going to have it "easy" (some of the most anxious people in my office this week were millennials w/no kids), and we are all going to be as considerate and helpful to one another as possible.

This is a good time for your kids to learn how to entertain themselves. At 4 and 7, they should be able to give you decent stretches of time where they’re coloring or playing with Legos and don’t bother you. Also, unless your husband is a first responder he needs to figure out a staggered schedule so that he can pitch in too. He doesn’t get to take a vacation in the office while you deal with everything.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My company's telework policy does not allow babysitting while you telework. It's one or the other.

Most (all) companies are this way. On snow days, we just say hi to each other’s kids on the conference calls. No one expects this rule to stand during a pandemic. You know, because all of the schools and daycares are closed.

That’s right. Companies are just going to get partially productive employees for a while because people who have caregiving responsibilities to children or disabled children or adults or the elderly will not be able to be 100 percent devoted. They can deal with it.

Anonymous wrote:My company's telework policy does not allow babysitting while you telework. It's one or the other.

Most (all) companies are this way. On snow days, we just say hi to each other’s kids on the conference calls. No one expects this rule to stand during a pandemic. You know, because all of the schools and daycares are closed.

My company's telework policy does not allow babysitting while you telework. It's one or the other.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let them sleep in.

Breakfast then cartoons and toys for a couple hours.

Let them play outside while you monitor from inside.

Lunch and cartoons.

Online school work followed by reading or coloring.

Snack

Playtime outside

Cartoons

Dinner

Husband should go into office super early to get home earlier than usual and give you time to work.

This is my general plan as well. Not much I can do about it. Conference calls/WebEx where I actually lead are going to be challenging.

I’ve done calls from home before with the kids. I tell them they need to be silent while I’m on the phone. They watch tv or play video games downstairs, and I work upstairs. It’s not a big deal.

In my family the 4 of us live in a two bedroom apartment. I usually work from home a few says a week but my entire set up is in the living room. Our apartment set up is such that I don’t get wireless in the bedroom and it’s not wired so I can’t move to another room. I just got noise canceling earphones. I was planning to take a week off in April for spring break.

For Monday I’m going to try 6-10 (9-10 kids - age 3 and 7 watch movie so husband can work); an hour while my husband takes a lunch break; then I work 5-6:30. The rest I’ll either take leave or work after bedtime.

My kids are 3 and 6, and I've been managing for the past week. The house is a mess, because their toys are out everywhere. I keep a stash of toys for last minute birthday gifts, and I'm starting to bring those out slowly. Older DD is doing a lot of art projects or other types of activity kits with instructions she can follow (e.g. Snap Circuits). Younger DS needs a little more attention, but he's been most entertained by train set and toy kitchen. He will occasionally pop into the room while I'm on a conference call and offer me "coffee" or (plastic) toast for breakfast, but my colleagues are understanding.

We are managing with just one movie a day, but I will be totally fine ramping up screen time or breaking out the tablet as time goes on.

Hopefully your colleagues are understanding that you are still a parent with human children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let them sleep in.

Breakfast then cartoons and toys for a couple hours.

Let them play outside while you monitor from inside.

Lunch and cartoons.

Online school work followed by reading or coloring.

Snack

Playtime outside

Cartoons

Dinner

Husband should go into office super early to get home earlier than usual and give you time to work.

See, my kids would not behave well with all that loosely goosey and screen time. For us, it just breeds problems.

If your kids aren’t equipped to entertain themselves, then that’s a problem.

Similarly, kids should be able to do school work independently.

I typed the list. My kids are slightly older. They’ll mostly play outside. I won’t have any issues working from home, and I’ll even be able to run conference calls.

Anonymous wrote:Let them sleep in.

Breakfast then cartoons and toys for a couple hours.

Let them play outside while you monitor from inside.

Lunch and cartoons.

Online school work followed by reading or coloring.

Snack

Playtime outside

Cartoons

Dinner

Husband should go into office super early to get home earlier than usual and give you time to work.

See, my kids would not behave well with all that loosely goosey and screen time. For us, it just breeds problems.