Hacks and Activities to Keep the Kids Happy

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Sure, everybody should have Golden Week off, but many people don’t. Whether you work remotely or in the service industry, or you just need to stay in touch even when out of the office, chances are a lot of parents need to navigate working while their kids are home from school – again. As someone who worked from home to some degree for the entire six years that I’ve been a parent, I can offer some tips and activities to make your time more valuable.

First, Forgive Yourself

Rarely does a day working from home go as planned. You may remember how tough it was during the height of the pandemic, but Beijing is back to being a bustling city, and people are ready to move on (masked, of course). Some days you’ll feel like Super Girl and some days you’ll be labeled the worst parent ever. It all evens out.

You Will Not Get as Much Done as You Normally Do

It’s not possible, so get over it and set clear boundaries/expectations with your co-workers. Plan on getting half as much done as you’d expect to do in the office, and you might hit the mark. Adjust your scope, not your standards.

You Can’t Just Sneak in Work Around Playtime

Even after years of experience as a work-at-home-parent, I sometimes still try this, and I always fail. The minute you think they’re occupied and you can focus on your laptop, whatever is on the screen will be the coolest thing to your kids at that moment! Make it clear how long you need to work and set a timer.

Prepare Snacks Ahead of Time

My kids usually get a snack platter when I have a video meeting or work call. Some sandwich choices, fruit, veggies snuck in there, and also a treat or two will extend the time I can take at my desk.

Beyond that, you’ll need some activities to occupy them in playtime when you can’t be the monster to their brave knights or the hide and seeker. Get ready to pull these out when they’re restless, and your work time will be fruitful!

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Be sure your bells don’t have small enough pieces to swallow

Activity: Jingle Bells
Age: Babies up to six months
Work Time: 10-15 minutes

An artist friend gifted me bells for my first child that loosely velcroed around their wrists and ankles. At first, I put them on him as a distraction just so I could sneak to the bathroom. When I started working again, I found that the bells on one of his wrists and one of his ankles allowed me at least ten minutes – enough time to properly answer an email or outline an essay.

Edible playthings are the best

Activity: Mellow Jell-O
Age: six-12 months
Work Time: 30 minutes

When my oldest was this age, we took him out to a big dinner at a restaurant when his grandparents came to town. His dessert arrived, a nice serving of blue Jell-O with a little whipped cream dollop, and he wasted no time – he dug his fingers right into it and started letting Jell-o drip between his fingers, relishing every moment of the sensation. See, he’d only ever seen as a gelatin sensory prop and never as food. Luckily my in-laws found it hilarious and a highlight of the trip.

Grab some cake tins to make the Jell-O beforehand, preferably multiple colors at once. When you put it into the refrigerator, bury small dinosaurs inside of it first. Then when they’re fussy and you have a deadline, plop their diapered butts into some kind of tub, or spread a plastic tablecloth on the floor, and take out the edible dino dig! Offer a spoon to grab the dinos and watch out — you may just have more fun watching them explore than doing your work.

Food coloring makes this gooey experience even cooler. Science!

Activity: Oobleck
Age: 12-18 months is ideal, but my kids still love it at four and six years old
Work Time: 30 – 60 minutes

Everyone thinks that oobleck is messy, but it cleans up pretty quickly. Spread out a bunch of art paper, or Tupperware, or tins on a plastic tablecloth on the floor. Oobleck just needs cornstarch, water, food coloring if you’re fancy, and a few different sized spoons. Strip those kids down, mix it up, and let them have at it.

What is oobleck? A Non-Newtonian fluid, so it’s like a solid but then it drips and you can scoop it. Leave it in the bowl for too long and it will look solid, like frosting, but not if you poke your finger through it. It’s just kiddie heaven. Clean up is not nearly as drastic as you think. And it’s so worth it. Sometimes my kids request oobleck when I’m not working, and I snatch that time to work ahead – laptop a few feet away from the science, of course.

Bonus points for this activity because they’ll inevitably need a bath after. Do you have any idea how many articles I’ve written by the bathroom sink?

Why is hide and seek so much fun?

Activity: Stuffy Scavenger Hunt
Age: 18-36 months
Work Time: 20 minutes

Draw a picture of their favorite five stuffed animals together. Then play the mean old pirate who kidnapped all the stuffies in exchange for gold! But if your kid can find all their toys, they save their stuffies and get the gold (chocolates)! There are tons of variations on this, but it can be a lot of fun as long as you don’t hide anyone too well, and then it’s too hard to find them.

Rotate out their stories to keep them fresh

Activity: Reading Nook
Age: three years and up
Work Time: 30 minutes

I keep our books in rough groups of ten and switch out which ones are accessible at any one time. When I need the kids to settle and give me some quiet, more thoughtful time, or I have a meeting, I set them up with a reading nook. This can be a makeshift fort or a corner with pillows, or even just displaying some of their old favorite books – anything to make the thrill of good stories new again.

So it might – will – be hard sometimes, but just take a few minutes to prepare for stretches of time you’ll need to work, be honest about it with them, and don’t forget to play! Kids will always give you the time you need to work if they know it means you will then spend an equal amount of time as the dragon attacking their castle.

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Photos: Cindy Marie Jenkins, Canva

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