9 tips on entertaining children while working from home

If you have a child (or multiple) and work from home, then you know all too well how hard it can be to also “keep an eye on” your assignments. Of course, in today’s modern world, it’s easiest to simply put on the TV or keep them busy with your mobile or tablet. But there are other ways that involve only using electronic devices sparingly, saving them for when you really need some peace and quiet while working.

As expected, the programme you choose depends on how old and physically capable your child is. However, we believe that the following 9 home-office tips will help you treat your little one to purposeful activities while handling the often challenging days just a bit easier.

Tip #1: Good organisation

This doesn’t mean that you have to plan out every minute of your child’s day in advance. Rather, it’s worth spending a moment thinking about how to entertain them, before buying them the necessary aids. We recommend alternating organised activities (meaning you have something prepared, like a worksheet) that your child can do on their own.

Tip #2: Toys after toys

Do you think that the more toys you surround your child with, the longer they’ll play and you can work in peace? Well, that’s not exactly how it works. The better idea is to offer them several toys and put away the rest, to then be used again later as if they were new. Children lose focus with too many toys and, paradoxically, end up playing even less. If you have multiple kids at home and they often fight over playthings, we’ve had success in using an hourglass and also setting rules for them on borrowing toys.

Tip #3: Exercise – jungle gym

Even though you’re working from home, treat your child to a bit of movement, which is also important for their development. By using our Pikler Triangle, balancing swing, and double-sided boards (for both sliding and climbing), you can create an awesome jungle gym that is sure to entertain your child for a long time. You can also add a walkway, skipping rope, and balls to your jungle gym.

Tip #4: Activity board, building set

You can keep your little one entertained for quite some time with various building sets and activity boards meant to exercise their fine motor skills. As you can see on this page, our wooden houses feature 30 activities that entertain children, develop their hand-eye coordination, and even teach them patience, given that some activities take a while to learn.

Tip #5: Arts and crafts

Painting is a super popular activity you can do at home, however, even more creative activities exist – modelling clay, folding and cutting paper, threading beads, etc. Kinetic sand and ironing beads are also trendy right now.

Tip #6: Fort

Children love having their own space, but that doesn’t mean you need to buy them some special tent for kids. You can easily create a fort with a table and a large blanket. Our wooden houses also make for great hidey-holes. And to ensure your child gets the full experience out of their fort, we recommend giving them a flashlight. 😊

Tip #7: Playing make-believe

Kids love copying adults and pretending to be just like them. And so, you can’t go wrong in buying your child any kind of work uniform and equipment for a certain job. Again, you don’t need to overload them with stuff. Rather, kids like using everyday items from around the house and creatively adapting them to fit their needs. For instance, your child only needs a few things from the kitchen to play “shop owner”, and you can even use our balancing swing as the shop counter.

Tip #8: Books

Even though we have plenty of mobiles, tablets, and e-readers available today, nothing can beat classic books and pop-up books. Children enjoy not only leafing through them but even using pop-up books to make little structures. Plus, some books are also interactive; they use sounds, lights, 3D pictures, and pages that can only be read under certain lights.

Tip #9: Worksheets

If you’ve already got a slightly older kid at home (3 or older), then you can prepare a worksheet for them. You can download loads of them for free online, meaning they only take a moment to prepare.