Work From Home Couple

Sometimes, when working from home the temptation is to view your kids as little critters designed to prevent you from getting anything done. We’ve all felt this way. There is no shame in admitting it.

But, when you work from home you have a great opportunity to teach your kids a thing or two about the way the working world operates. For instance, I think it does kids a great service to know that there are times when you absolutely have to work, even if you don’t want to. You may want to go outside and play catch. But if a deadline looms, that work has to be done first.

That’s a valuable lesson for kids. It teaches them that there is such a thing as delayed gratification. Too many kids today get whatever they want whenever they want it. (And no, I’m not the old man on the block who yells at the kids to get off my lawn. I just sound like it sometimes.)

This weekend, I took my oldest son to our local theater to see A Christmas Carol. My wife had been working on putting together the customers for Scrooge, the ghosts and Marley for weeks before the show opened. My son watched her spending long evenings whipping everything into shape. He even tried on Tiny Tim’s costume. Then he got to see the results of all that hard work on the stage.

Here’s another good lesson for kids: Yes, sometimes you do have to work hard. But there is something enormously satisfying about completing a job and doing it well.

So if you do work from home, remember to take the opportunity to share the work you do with your kids. It’ll be time well spent.

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