Work at home parents face challenges that are rather unique. We have made the choice to work from home in order to have more time with our families. This is sometimes a decision that is at times wonderful and at other times monumentally bad. We wanted to work at home so we wouldn't have to leave our children in the care of others while we trudged off to the trenches each and every day wasting precious moments not only working outside the home but during the commute each way as well.

Now that you've made the move to work from home, I'm guessing that you've noticed that the reality isn't quite as rosey as the mental image was. The first weeks will be challenging but are also very important in establishing a routine with you and your family in regards to your workday. You must separate your business from your family and you must make them understand that while you are home, you must also work. This is sometimes hard for spouses to understand but establishing this early will save major problems later on.

Here are a few things you can do that will help you keep your business and your family separate.

???1) Set business hours. This is as much for you as it is

for other family members. A wise person once told

me that until I treated my business like a

business and took it seriously I could not expect

anyone else to do so either. Take frequent breaks

and be flexible with your children, but be adamant

about keeping your business hours as sacred as

possible. At the same time, when it's quitting

time, it's time to quit for the day. Your family will

resent your business if it constantly cuts into their

time with you.

???2) Don't do housework during business hours. I plan

my business hours after 10:00 in the morning so

that I can get some housework done and a meal

thrown into the crock-pot before beginning my

workday. Whatever you need to do in order to

keep from vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, etc.

during your business hours is highly

recommended. Making one exception is an open

invitation for more to follow. Try as hard as

possible to make this a rule and keep it one.

???3) Don't take personal phone calls during your

business hours. This is a huge no-no. If it's an

emergency they will leave a message. I'm not

talking about not answering the kid's school or

something like that, but do you really need to talk

to your sister-in-law about the family reunion or

should that wait until family time?

???4) Be sure that you are working during your

business hours. The more you actually get

accomplished during your business hours, the less

you will be distracted by during family time.

???5) Delegate housework during your family time. If

everyone works together on the unpleasant

tasks, there is more time for family fun. That, more

than anything else will be what your children

remember about you working from home and

what it means to them.

???6) Don't get so caught up in work that you can't

make time for your family when you need to. It's a

fine line sometimes between what we feel we

need to be doing for them and what they really

need us to do. Sometimes, it helps to take 20

minutes just to devote time to them and ignore

the computer. Our family (at least for a vast

majority of us) is the reason we work from home;

don't forget that as you work to build your

business.

Keeping your family and business separate will bring great rewards. You will find that your family doesn't resent your ?office time? because you are making sure that you have plenty of time for them and that you are still able to get a great deal of work accomplished because they don't feel the constant need to interrupt. And also remember that there is no reason you can't put your older children to work for you. This will give you good quality time together and still get office tasks accomplished. Those are memories that will be treasured by both of you.