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• Reputation: 35 Q&A: 0 0 0 35 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Expert: 2 topics Parenting Q&A Discipline Follow Following 0 Roslyn Ann Duffy

  4 0 My husband and I were both in college when our two oldest children were under age 4, with no family nearby and NO MONEY. Believe me, I hear you. First, you are working, even though the workplace happens to by your home. That means your child needs someone to attend to her, beyond the diapering, nursing or bottle break that you provide. Our solution was to do a trade-off with a neighbor who worked nights as a nurse. During the day she watched our youngest and her own child, and from dinner through night-time, her son was with us. Other suggestions would be to find a mom or dad with an 11 or 12-year-old who they don’t want to leave home alone while school is out. Their child could play with your daughter as you work. In exchange, you would be giving that child a place to spend her day while your child got a playmate. Is there an elderly person on your block who might be lonely? Invite her to spend a few hours being ‘grandma’. My point is that you and your baby need some help here, and my best advice is to get creative and transform your definition of both childcare and family. There are people whose needs might dovetail with yours and everyone will benefit. If all else fails, enjoy your baby and do your work while she naps or after her bedtime. If you have a partner, he or she might help out by going to work a bit later and doing early morning duty so you can get some extra rest. You will figure this out – but you don’t have to do it alone. Really. Roslyn Ann Duffy answered in Discipline 11 months ago | Report 2 comments by TVDinner Redux and Vinnie… 0 0 Thank you, Roslyn. I really appreciate your thoughtful insights. TVDinner Redux commented 11 months ago | Report 0 0 Roslyn's answer is genius. Vinnie commented 11 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  3 0 Get up before she does and work for a couple of hours or so. I do this a couple of days a week and it's great. Work then play with her, work then play with her. The play and attention will buy you time to work. Set a timer for 15 minutes at a time. Play time then work time. You'll be able to stretch it out as she gets older. Get a neighbor kid in to be a Mama's helper. Make her an "office" with toys that get rotated in and out so she doesn't get bored. Play music that is kid friendly. Do a swap with another mom in the same situation. Amy Lang answered in Discipline 11 months ago | Report 1 comment by TVDinner Redux… 0 0 These are great, common-sense solutions, Amy. Thank you so much! TVDinner Redux commented 11 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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• Reputation: 474 Q&A: 9 0 7 165 13 0 Classifieds: 2 0 what's this? Moderator Anthony Hecht is a moderator on Questionland Seattle Follow Following 0

  3 0 Yeah, it's definitely tough. I only work at home every now and then, but our son has some of the same behaviors. One thing I've found helpful when he's reaching for my keyboard is to set him down with either a toy computer ("My First Laptop is SO FUN!" it sings, incessantly) or an old keyboard to bang on. It's enough like what he's after that he'll be satisfied for a while. I've also found that briefly stopping my work to play with him or give him something to eat can buy me another half hour. Repeat until nap time, which is when I really buckle down to get some work done. Good luck! Anthony Hecht answered in Discipline 11 months ago | Report 1 comment by TVDinner Redux… 0 0 Thanks, Anthony! It's nice to hear from someone in the same boat. I chuckled at the keyboard suggestion, because we totally did that. I think I'm just going to have to adjust my expectations. TVDinner Redux commented 11 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  1 0 I'm kinda in the same boat. I am in a distance grad school program. All online! And everyone says "oh, you can do all the work when your toddler is sleeping!" Which isn't that helpful. There is more work to do than napping that will happen. And toddlers this age tend not to sleep so well at night, so I'm tired and getting work done at bed time doesn't really work, either. Then there are the other things that we sometimes need to do when toddlers nap. Eat, shower, clean the house, make phone calls... I have figured out, for me, that doing work with the toddler around just doesn't work. It makes him grumpy, it makes me grumpy, and not much work gets done. A babysitter or daycare would be the best option... if it was not so expensive, but it is. If you can't swing it, maybe you could find another mom to trade babysitting with? Or, if you are partnered, your partner can watch the baby while you get work done? penuche answered in Discipline 11 months ago | Report 2 comments by TVDinner Redux and penuche… 1 0 Oh penuche, I feel you. I'm also in grad school and I'm somehow supposed to be researching my thesis while working on this internship and working a few hours a week in a related field for my local municipality. Sometimes I think, "God, what's that awful smell?" And then I realize it's been two days since I've showered. This period of our lives passes quickly, though, so I'm just trying to enjoy as much of the ride as possible and drink beer for the rest of it. TVDinner Redux commented 11 months ago | Report 0 0 I feel really lucky that I can do a portfolio, which is still a lot of work, but less than a thesis! It's hard to keep it all together. And there are NO breaks, are there? But, we'll get through it eventually. penuche commented 11 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  1 2 I agree with Misty. You need daycare, or you need to work when the kid is sleeping. Mahtli69 answered in Discipline 11 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  1 3 Man, that is rough, and I don't have any good news for you. I don't think it will fly. You can't work with a little kid around like that. Does she nap? Maybe you can try to get some work done then. Maybe you get 2 hours during nap time, and then 2 more after she's asleep for the night. It's really, really difficult- I know. I tried. Misty Brown answered in Discipline 11 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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