It is common that parents who work outside of the home will have times throughout the year when primary childcare arrangements don’t match the work calendar. How to navigate this will depend on many individual factors, like:
Your industry and job. Some roles will require backup childcare to perform your job, particularly if you cannot work remotely.
Your resources. What is accessible for one family to piece together for backup childcare may not be accessible to another family.
Your preferences. Other roles may offer flexibility that allows you to blend working remotely while children are under your care, but every company will have different policies, so you’ll have to run your plans and preferences by a manager.
If you need tips for managing childcare when you have to work out of the home, consider the following avenues:
Vacation days: When vacation days are available to you, take them in a way that syncs with your child’s school calendar! Yes, the holidays can be busier for many industries, but with advanced notice and planning with your manager or team, this may be the most logical and low-stress solution. Don’t let working-parent guilt prevent you from taking time off that is available to you! If your child has a particularly long break, you can do a combination of vacation days and enlisting back-up care on other days.
Nanny share: By sharing one nanny with one or two other families, you can significantly reduce the price of hiring back-up care.
Community camps: Scan your local paper or city communication channels for camps. Many libraries, museums, or recreation centers run camps for kids in a way that aligns with childcare and school breaks. This can be logistically easier for some families who don’t have an established sitter or nanny to lean on.
If all checks out for a hybrid arrangement, here are some strategies for working with children home:
Prepare the kids. This is so easy to skip but is so valuable. Let your kids know ahead of time what they can expect when they pivot to winter break. “You are going to be home, but I will still have some work to do here! After breakfast together, I will have to spend some time on my computer. During this time, you can play with your toys.”
Repeat this quick meeting the night before any hybrid day to remind them multiple times what is coming the next day of their break.
Prepare your home for independent play. If you haven’t reviewed our Play Toolkit, now’s the time. Deeper quality child-led play does not just happen out of thin air from merely buying toys. It comes from curating carefully prepared spaces that minimize overwhelm and inspire your child to focus. It also comes from offering specific toys designed to engage your child with a “just right” challenge level. Treat your child’s play space like their workspace because it is to them! This requires time upfront, keeping the space tidy, and ensuring they have access to a few activity prompts that they can easily choose without needing an adult to help them.
Plan short work blocks with built-in breaks. It’s not feasible to work a 6-8 hour day while leaving young kids to their own devices—plan for short sprints with proactive breaks to boost quality time. When your kids feel connected to you, they can go on to play more independently. So keep that in mind: connection first, independent focus second. Repeat. If you truly need a 6-8 hour stretch for yourself, consider leaning on your outer circle to see if they can pop in to play with the kids: neighbors, friends, family, or a babysitter.
Movie time. It’s perfectly okay to lean on screen time if you otherwise use screens in your family. However, you’ll want to treat this as one part of the day—not as the main offering. Young children can have a difficult time transitioning away from prolonged screen use, and it can also lead to overstimulation, which may end up giving you back a dysregulated child. So, with any screen time offered, stick to clear boundaries around when it’s ending, too.
Teach your kids how to interrupt (and wait). Show them how to put their hand on your shoulder. Then, show them how you will hold their hand to signify, “I know you are here. I will speak to you as soon as I can.” Once you can give them your full attention, turn to them and release your hand with a “Thank you for waiting.” Try not to make your child wait more than a couple of minutes, as being able to stay is a skill in and of itself that needs practice. For young toddlers, they may only be able to wait 30 seconds at first.
Keep snacks at your desk. When you know you have a work call, it can help to have a snack drawer within arm’s reach to temporarily redirect them to snack while they wait for you to finish the call. Do kids ever turn down a good snack? We have yet to see!
This approach combines preparation and flexible time management and can help some working parents strike a joyful balance, but it is not for everyone. If you feel you need more support with work or caregiving, it is critical to self-evaluate what is working well and what is not in order to make tweaks that help you thrive.