How We are Juggling Working from Home and 3 Kids
I have been working from home for 14 years… but not with my kids in the background.
I will admit to being relieved when our school district announced closure on Friday, at least through April 6th. My husband and I saw the writing on the wall, so we opted to keep our kids home that day. By early afternoon, we had received an email from the school superintendent announcing the formal closure and a few hours later the governor of Illinois announced the statewide shutdown of schools.
The relief came because now we knew the answer: the kids would be home, now we can prepare. We have a 4th grader, a 2nd grader, and a 2.5-year-old. Even though we would have kept the toddler home regardless, my day care formally announced that it would close on Monday, for at least two weeks. I suspect that all of these closures will last much longer.
My husband and I are fortunate that we both already work from home. We have dedicated home offices and all of the equipment that we need. We wouldn’t have to simultaneously make that adjustment. At the same time, other than the occasional sick day, we’ve never had our kids around while we are working. They have always been in full-day day care, and camps in the summer.
