#WellnessWednesday: Tips for managing childcare while working from home

As COVID-19 grinds the world to a standstill, the majority of our workforce is adjusting to working from home, and acclimating to our new but temporary reality can prove to be difficult at the best of times.

With an added twist, many schools and childcare facilities across North America have shut down in an effort to flatten the curve and reduce the spread of the virus – leaving many of our team members balancing childcare and day-to-day work tasks.

To all the TC Energy parents out there, we know it’s hard and that some of you may be struggling with keeping your kids busy and managing your workload simultaneously. To help strike this balance, we’ve put together some tips for your consideration. We’d also encourage all our TC Energy employees, parents or not, to take advantage of flex or vacation days. Take a day for yourself to completely disconnect and recharge.

Top tips to managing childcare and working from home

• Create routine. Throughout the day, assign designated playtimes, nap times, lunch breaks, learning periods, etc. to keep some daily structure. When possible, plan breaks in your own workday that allow for you to spend time doing these activities with your kids and other activities that they can do solo while you’re trying to work. If you have a partner, coordinate your schedules. Spend time with your children and explain why and how this new normal works.
  
  
• Keep your kids engaged and active. Plan different activities that will keep your children occupied throughout the day. Some of these could include, online learning resources, physical activity, playing with toys or assigning chores if your child is old enough.
  
  
• Capitalize on nap time – make it your time. Use this time for activities that require your undivided focus and attention. If your kids are too old for nap time, use this as screen time or video game time. 
  
  
• Plan for interruptions. These are unusual working circumstances for everyone but remember, parents world-wide are navigating new child-care arrangements together. Interruptions are to be expected so be forgiving and patient. Keep the mute button on during web conferences or consider making a sign to let your loved ones know that you are busy. If you are using MS Teams, you can also consider using the blurred background option.  
  
  
• Talk to your kids about COVID. Adjust your explanation to your child's age and be open to their questions, leaving out excessive detail. Keep an eye on their news intake and be aware of what you’re talking about while your kids are around. Most importantly, don’t be too hard on yourself! This is a new situation and we’re learning together.

Share your tips with us

We’ve heard of parents thinking outside the box to help their kids learn and keep busy. Some of these ideas include, creating an obstacle course through the house, using a bowl of water, ground pepper and soap to show the importance of hand washing or hiding teddy bears around the house for an ultimate teddy bear hunt! 

We want to know what is working well for you. Share your #parentinghacks with us by commenting below or sharing these tips with your social networks on Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin using the hashtag #WellnessWednesday.