How To Survive Working From Home With A Toddler
Working from home can be stressful to begin with, trying to complete work while taking care of your toddler are both full time jobs. I hope these tips can help make some days a bit easier.
1. Organize Your Work Blocks
Pre-plan work tasks realistically before each week.
List weekly tasks.
Due dates.
Estimated time blocks for each.
Materials that you will need.
Main tasks and efforts for each assignment.
Divide tasks into morning or afternoon.
Free organizational tools
Pre-plan personal time before each week
List daily rituals.
List break time lengths.
List a few personal things that you WANT to do if you have time.
List personal things and housework that you must do.
List tasks you need to do, but they don’t have to be done right away.
2. Build Habits And Support
Use a Consistent Boundary Phrase: have a few firm-but-loving phrases to use consistently when you are busy working. Say them to your child. “I need personal space for my meeting or “I can’t do that right now, I’m busy,” or “I’ll look at it when my meeting is finished.”
Take Breaks: during breaks, actually take time for yourself. Let your child know “that you are resting and they need to go have personal time”.
Have a Trusted Circle: have a few people you can depend on to step in for a bit when you need an emergency break or to cover an event. Have a Trusted babysitter or caregiver keep them in case of an emergency. Prepare a short list of your child’s routines and emergency contacts for them.
Weekend Preparation: pre-think about a few meals, outfits, and activities for the comming week to help cut down on stress and sudden decisions.
Personal‑time Fund: set aside a small monthly amount to treat yourself to something special.
Wake Up a Bit Earlier: if possible, get up at least 30 minutes before your child and take some time for yourself. For example, in your skin routine: one minute of journaling, a workout, or a short time outdoors.
Parent Swap: when your spouse comes home each Friday, after they rest a bit, let them take over for a while so you have an uninterrupted rest.
Reflect and Celebrate: after each week, note the small things that did and did not work, and think of ways to make them easier and more transparent, and to move more calmly.
Mirror Break Time: use your child’s downtime windows, such as sleep time or quiet-down times, for a brief rest or a quick nap for yourself.
Quick Stress-shakeouts: do a couple of body-release actions when overwhelmed, or to boost your mood, such as: shaking out your body, shaking your feet, standing up and down, in-and-out breathing, walking around, stepping outside for a few minutes, drinking a glass of water, doing a body stretch, or applying a favorite lip balm.
Social Recharge: plan at least one social interaction per week with someone you enjoy spending time with.
Mental health: if needed, book a recurring check‑in with a coach or support group and treat it as personal care.
3. Let Your Toddler Choose
Each day, incorporate simple choices and small responsibilities to build your child's independence, communication, problem‑solving, and confidence.
Offer two clear, simple options: keep choices limited to two healthy, positive options.
Let your child choose things: pick one item for the day, such as a snack or an activity. Stick to 2 or 3 meaningful choices to avoid overwhelming your child. “Do you want bananas or apples? or “Please choose one t-shirt to wear: do you want the Blue or Red shirt?” or “Which movie do you want after lunch?” or “Pick one thing to do first: playing with your blocks or with your dolls.”
Be age‑appropriate: use age-appropriate conversations when talking with your child, such as yes/no questions, two-step questions, and visual choices for younger toddlers. Older kids can handle deeper questions, more steps, and choices.
Validate feelings: take the time to name and comfort your child’s feelings/emetions when they get upset. and give them physical comfort.
Teach consequences: use short, cause‑and‑effect language to help your child learn to identify consequences.
Always follow through: honor your child's choices when you give options, but when needed, briefly explain why they can’t.
Set boundaries first: let your child know the boundaries in advance, and offer only safe choices.
Normalize using the word “No”: say “No” calmly, explain your reason briefly to your child, then offer an acceptable alternative.
Celebrate small wins: offer quick praise, a sticker, or a high‑five after your child demonstrates the behavior you want to encourage, and reinforce the behavior you want to repeat.
3. Let Them Play Independently
Create a few busy bins: pre-prepare 4 extra-small activity bins to pull out quickly on days when your child needs help staying engaged, and rotate them.
Use a visual timer: use a sand timer or a countdown app to help your toddler understand how much time they have for independent activity before you join them.
Do little check-ins: pick a few consistent times throughout the day to do quick check-ins on your child while they are engaged.
Give tiny jobs and responsibilities: give your toddler small tasks to keep them busy and focused. Give tiny independent tasks such as sorting socks, cleaning the table, organizing their shoes, or saying “let’s see how fast you can… ”.
Time‑block your day: break your day into blocks, break work sessions into focused blocks, and schedule some blocks for time to engage with your child.
Designate a work zone: show your child your work area and explain the importance of respecting it. Keep your workspace and work materials out of reach and set the boundaries around your work time, space, and materials.
Set up a snack station: place pre-prepared healthy snacks on a low table or shelf so your toddler can self‑serve when they are hungry.
Quick outdoor resets: make time for outside time each day for yourself and your toddler, at least 15 minutes outside, in the backyard, or go for a walk, to help reset energy and attention for both of you.
Audio activities: play some calm songs or audiobooks for your toddler while they do their activities in a separate room.
Prep transitions: use a short ritual, a song, a 5-minute warning, or a bell to communicate transition time to your child. This can help reduce meltdowns.
4. Encourage More Independence
Daily independent playtime: have a variety of reachable, engaging activities, open‑ended toys, and play materials at a low enough level for your child to reach and choose.
Enough Time: give your child space and time, and just let them be, explore, and play without constant direction.
Role‑Play Props: have a variety of props available, such as dress-up costumes, dolls, and dramatic dishes to spark imagination, role-testing, and creativity.
Switch it Up: rotate your child's toys and activity bins every 3 weeks to keep interest fresh.
Quite Basket: pre-prepare a few extra-small activity baskets to pull out on days when your child needs help staying engaged, and rotate them.
Loose‑Parts: provide loose parts and recycled materials for your child to explore. Such as safe, recycled items, finger toys, and natural items like fabric scraps, large buttons, wood pieces, corks, tubes, or shells.
Play Model: model one short skill for your child a few times, then step back and let them practice independently. Or give them a task that keeps them busy, such as finding something, building something, or locating an item in the home.
Visual daily schedule: post pictures of the child engaged in their daily schedule, in the correct step sequence, on the wall. This can help them to be more independent. Include images of activity time, meal times, and bedtime.
Safe play zone: for younger toddlers, use a large gated area with your child’s play activities and materials so you can work nearby while keeping an eye on them.
Independent art station: have an area within your child's play space for art activities, including a low table, washable markers, scissors, colored pencils, paper, stickers, and other age-appropriate art materials
Sensory bins: have a low bin for sensory exploration with items your child can explore with their hands. Such as water with funnels, large pasta with scoopers, and finger toys.
Screen learning app time: limit daily app usage and set a timer to keep screen time purposeful. Stick to the time limit and be consistent with the rules.
Minute check‑ins: do brief, predictable check‑ins each day as your child engages in their play.
Mini reward chart: at the end of each day, let your child add a sticker as a small reward for being so independent and respecting your work time.
Quiet‑time ritual: have a consistent wind‑down routine to signal rest time is coming, such as curling up together, singing a song or reading a special book.
Boundary language: have a few firm-but-loving phrases to use consistently when you are busy working. Say them to your child. “I need personal space for my meeting or “I can’t do that right now, I’m busy,” or “I’ll look at it when my meeting is finished.”
5. Teach Cause And Effect
Communicate non-negotiable rules: communicate the non-negotiable home rules from day one to your child. These rules are for safety and a sense of routine and order; no choices are offered. For example, for dinnertime, bedtime, and bathtime.
Let it slide: sometimes, let small things slide, but only if they are safe. Ignore small attention‑seeking mischief when it's not unsafe; don’t give it any attention; eventually, the misbehavior will stop.
Provide choices sometimes: When choices are available, make sure they're toward safe, healthy options.
Use natural, logical consequences: stay calm when offering a consequence, and don’t lecture or shame. For example: “You can keep your pajamas on, but they will get dirty, so you can’t wear them to bed.”
Limit rules: too many limits will confuse your toddler; fewer, clearer, direct rules work better.
Give two brief reminders: remind your child of the consequences of their behavior twice; if they still don’t listen, follow through with the consequence the third time. Consistency teaches faster than repeated warnings. Stick to your guns even if they start crying and whining.
Model, model: show your child what to do rather than only what not to do. Be calm and consistent; use natural consequences, praise the behavior you want to see, and separate your child from their misbehavior.
Label the behaviour and action: if your child is doing something unsafe or misbehaving, let them know exactly what they are doing. Say, “Throwing the ball inside is unsafe; things can get broken. Let’s go outside in 15 mins.” Instead of saying “you’re a bad girl/ boy for throwing the ball inside.”
Celebrate small wins: sometimes, after a consequence, pointing out any improvement your child is making helps reinforce positive learning. Let them know that you are noticing their efforts.
Praise the positive: let your child know when they show positivity, kindness, growth, and safe behaviours. Let them know that you are noticing their efforts. “I like how you used gentle hands while touching your baby sister’s face; she is not hurt.”
Rotate roles: develop the ability to use both “good cop” and “firm cop” with your child; your job is not to be your child's friend. Be consistent when firm for better outcomes.
Dangerous things: intervene immediately if things, actions, or behaviors are dangerous. Consequences for unsafe behaviours and actions should be clear and immediate.
Try Direct Parenting: before = “If your pajamas get dirty, they’ll need washing.” Then = Offer choice: “You can choose: change now or wear them until bath time.”
Follow-through: “Okay, they’re dirty now; we’ll wash them and pick clean ones for bed.”
6. Lengthen Independent Play Sessions
Provide quality open-ended material: Children will stay engaged if they are interested in it. Provide toys that can be used in different ways, a few books, different kinds of blocks, materials for sensory exploration, puzzles, dramatic props, push-and-pull toys, art materials, stickers, paper, play-dough, loose parts materials, animales, people/dolls, and cars. Dress-up clothing, a dramatic house center/kitchen, dinosaurs, puppets, music instruments, mirrors, and a comfotable play environment where they can relax and explore peacefully.
Independent play sessions: 60 minutes or more.
Check-ins: Do a small check-in, but dont stay too long or interrupt if your child is focused on an activity.
Change work materials: Rotate toys every 2 weeks to maintain high engagement.
Fresh air: Each day, incorporate time into your child's schedule for outdoor time and an afternoon nap.
Foster Independence: A low snack shelf stocked with a few healthy snacks can help your child stay in their state of learning independence. Sometimes, let them decide what healthy snacks they want and put them out.
Have a few pictures up of different activities. Let your child choose the activities they want to do that day, and let them follow them independently.
At the end of each day: Reflect and celebrate with your child by listening to their thoughts, joys, and questions about their day.
