Work at Home Moms: Your Kids Can Be the Best Employees You Ever Had

The benefits of being a work-at-home parent can often outweigh the drawbacks. However, there are some days when it can prove to be a difficult task. You're trying to be involved in a very important conference call, or maybe you're trying to get that work in before the deadline. Meanwhile, your two-year-old is trying to climb on top of your filing cabinet. Here are some great ideas that can help make life easier while you work at home with your kids around. 

Let your child know that he or she is your personal assistant. Stress the importance of the title they've been given and set up a little desk for your new assistant. Make sure that it's close enough for you to keep your eye on your child, but far enough away that you can focus on your own work. Give your child tools similar to the ones that you've got on your own desk. Select only the safest items and be sure that they are virtually indestructible. A natural curiosity paired with an active imagination can lead to disaster should your child get his or her hands on the wrong item. 

Assign your assistant with important job responsibilities. One duty that might give your child a sense of importance is opening mail. Give your child junk mail, advertisements or anything else that is unimportant to you. Be sure to give your child's workspace a trashcan to throw away the envelope when they're through. Another time-consuming activity is allowing your child to organize outdated files, rough drafts, old business cards, or anything else you no longer need. The key to this task is to place files to be organized in a file bin to be transferred to an old briefcase or even a desk drawer. This has the potential to entertain your child for hours. 

Small children usually like to look for things, especially when they think they're helping mommy or daddy. Depending on the location of your office and the independence of your child, you may be able to designate duties that require your new assistant to leave the office - such as going after a phone book or other item that you've failed to bring in. You can purposely leave those items behind to give your child an activity.