Managing With Children at Home

A few weeks ago I deleted all social media from my phone (including LinkedIn) because I found myself in the zone out scroll - you know the one. And while the break has been nice, I also feel a gap in my ability to relate to others who are experiencing similar walks in life right now. When I thought about sitting down to write this, I realized that LinkedIn is the perfect melting pot of what and who I am. I put “mom” in my header for a reason, it’s just as important as all of my other jobs.?

Yesterday morning, right as we were packing up to drop our children off at daycare, we received a call saying that our youngest daughter’s class would be closed due to covid infections in both teachers and students. When we all got covid earlier this year, they first closed this same classroom but then it spread to the whole school and within 24 hours the school shut. Mind you, a whole school under 5 - mostly unvaccinated children. As a matter of precaution, we decided to keep our older daughter home as well so that we wouldn’t all circle the covid wagon again.?

Now, you’re wondering - how do two working out of the home parents just pivot their entire days? Well, we don’t. We have to drop everything and care for our children and my partner and I are lucky that we both have somewhat flexible jobs where we could pivot like this. Yesterday was spent looking for backup care, babysitters, nannies, family, you name it to get coverage for the next 10 days of required closure. Normally, I’d be using the generous benefits that Capital One offers through Bright Horizons (15 days of backup care) for situations such as this. Unfortunately, due to the season we are in, we’ve already depleted that benefit due to multiple school closures, random sicknesses, again, you name it - so it is no longer an option for us.?

After creating a care.com profile, an Au Pair America profile, contemplating begging my parents, neighbors or dog to watch the girls, I found someone for the rest of the week. This morning they arrived promptly at 8:23am - early, surprising. I went through the spiel of “here's the nap times, here’s the eating schedule, here’s the changing table, I’ll be locked in that room, my partner will be locked in that room -- good luck!” 63 minutes later at 9:26, my eldest daughter bursts into my temporary office and says “mommy, mommy, the lady says it’s an emer gun c” - me thinking something has happened to my youngest, abruptly drop the zoom call and run downstairs. The person says “I’m nauseous and I don’t think I can watch your kids today, I need to leave” and just like that poof - the 12 zoom meetings I had planned for today, entire work schedule my partner had, vanished faster than she could walk out the door. When I texted later asking how I could pay her for her hour of work, she said “don’t worry about it” when in reality, I probably would have paid her double to stay.?

In between arts and crafts, driveway play time and zoom meetings - during one of which my youngest drew a green marker streak across my chin, I somehow found 5 different people to watch the girls over the next 3 days, just to get coverage of a normal 9 to 5 business day. Now imagine if I had gone into an office? Imagine if I didn’t have a flexible job where I could pass the children from one babysitter to another in between zoom meetings? Imagine I was a single mom without a supportive partner? Imagine I worked somewhere without amazing benefits, a great supportive boss, and the tools like a laptop and mobile phone that some folks take for granted.?The list is endless.

I’m not asking for your sympathy, far from it. I’m sending a gentle reminder for those that are contemplating and working on the grand “re-emergence” from covid that it is still as real as ever and if you aren’t thinking about your onsite or hybrid return to work plans with that entire employee population of folks with children, you’re making a mistake.?

Thank you to my partner, my team, my brand new associate, my wonderful manager and my employer. It’s been a helluvah few weeks but I couldn’t do it all without you.?

Here are a few resources I keep handy when I am coaching folks:

Managing with children at home

https://www.fastcompany.com/90478087/got-kids-try-these-tips-for-working-from-home-while-theyre-with-you

https://www.parents.com/parenting/work/life-balance/how-to-master-being-a-work-at-home-mom/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/success/working-from-home-with-kids-coronavirus/index.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/16/how-to-work-from-home-with-your-kids-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.html