The most challenging part of being a work at home Mom is to keep the kid busy while you try to get some work done. It’s really hard when you have a client anxiously waiting on the other end of Skype while your kid craves attention– and we all know what happens when kids desperately needs attention. I admit I’m sometimes guilty on doing the easiest solution which is to turn to technology to keep my little girl occupied. I let her play on the iPad or let her watch TV for an extended time (she usually gets 2 hours a day) which I don’t feel good about, by the way.

This is the exact reason why I took time and effort to find out activities that will keep my little girl busy without resorting to technology. Here are my suggestions that worked for us:

1. Pretend Play

Encourage your children to play with their dolls and stuff toys. My kid likes to play teacher with her most loved stuff toys and Barbies which is good because it enhances their imagination and they’re able to build their confidence this way. Just make sure she’s safe where you’re leaving her and that she’s away from any pointed things that she might get curious of.

2. Let them paint

Supply them with a lot of paper (we use discarded papers from the office which they’ll just throw out) and paint. Keep the area mess free by laying down newspaper and tell them whoever keeps their work area clean will get a special treat- this works for my little girl all the time!

3. Creative Play

These are toys that are educational but unstructured like play kitchens, shopping carts, dolls & doll houses, building blocks, etc. My daughter likes to play “chef & waiter” where she asks everyone what their orders are and then she cooks it for them. She also sets her own restaurant or coffee shop or sometimes, tea shop. It’s fun listening to her while she talks to her customers and co-workers.

4. Books

I love books and I made sure my daughter does too. She loves to “read” books and tell the stories to her stuff toys too.

5. Get them moving

If there’s a park or a play ground near your home, let the child and her care taker walk and play. Let them enjoy the world and discover more instead of playing within the monotonous routine in your house.  I encourage my kid to play in the playground, walk in the park, swim if the weather permits and bike around the neighborhood.  Sometimes she does not like to go out so what I do, I give her bubble maker toys that she can only play outside the house 🙂

I have nothing against technology but as a parent, I still want my child to develop her imaginative skills and loco motor skills and this wouldn’t be possible when she sits around watching TV or playing with the iPad. Technology I believe should be used sparingly by young children so that they will become interested on other things apart from what’s inside a virtual box.