Working at home with children and a nanny

Due to Covid working from home is a new standard. Having a Nanny in the house to help you with the children is a nice solution, but can sometimes be quite confusing for the children. You are at home but you would rather not be disturbed. Therefore, we like to share a few tips to help find the perfect balance in working at home with children playing in the house too.

Explain it well

For young children it can sometimes be difficult when both parents and the Nanny are at home. Children are used to going to one of the parents first if something is wrong or when they have a question. To avoid this confusion, it is important to explain the content of working from home to your children. Explain that you will be behind your desk during the day and you will probably have some important calls, and that the Nanny will take care of all questions. The child will have to get used to it at first, but if you keep talking about it clearly they will understand.

Divide the space in the house

It can make a big difference to agree on places in the house the children and the nanny can go during the day. This makes it easier to understand that there is a clear boundary between a working area and the playing area for the children. This also ensures that the children are not constantly reminded that you are at home and so the nanny can focus more easily on their task.

Make arrangements with the nanny in advance

It can be helpful to discuss a planning with the Nanny at the beginning of the day. This ensures that the Nanny knows when you have an important meeting and the Nanny will make sure she will leave the house with the children at that given time. Furthermore, it is good to agree on what is allowed and what is not during the day.

Think of fun activities for the children to do with the nanny

Keeping the children occupied throughout the day can sometimes be quite a task. When the parents are at home this is often even more difficult, because the children tend to go to their parents quickly. It is therefore useful to discuss clearly with the Nanny in advance what you need to work on at home and what the children like to do. This ensures that the Nanny can think of activities that fit your ideal home working situation.

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