Working from home with children Interview <APAC edition Part 2>

[natsumimori]

Hi Community,

We have recently started this interview series about "Working from home with children". This is the Part 2 from APAC offices and this time we interviewed 2 boys' mum- Elayne and 2 years old's dad- Aaron!

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Elayne Soon 

Senior Recruiter in Singapore office

Children's age: I have 2 boys- Ollie is 8 and Kaeson is turning 5 this year.

Could you share your work and how a day looks like? 

I try to start my day early by waking up ahead of my children to get some me time - that’s sometimes hard to achieve as both children are early risers. Developing and having the boys stick to a new routine has worked well for us. They start off by doing Yoga after breakfast, singing to the National Anthem, reciting the National Pledge and Ollie will sing his school song. This is where they separate for their individual schedules. Ollie is a Primary 2 Student, he has more homework than Kaeson. He starts off his day by taking his body temperature, penning a note of encouragement to his teachers and a quick 3 minutes video workout. His home based learning consists of lessons and homework online and written homework. Kaeson, who’s in junior kindergarten this year,  has his own set of home based learning schedules to follow. They are a mixture of online interactive lessons with his teachers and friends, and online videos which encourage movements such as dance, yoga and exercise.I schedule in breaks for them so around 10:30am is where both the boys will take a break, have a light snack and they will each get to decide what to do next. They either continue with their homework or engage in free play. They then shower and have their lunch. 

I’m thankful that both my boys still nap for 2 hours in the afternoon, that gives me and my husband a good stretch of uninterrupted quiet time. The time between late noon till dinner time is where the boys enjoy a tea break, play together and attend virtual physical activities for 1 hour and a half. On days without physical workouts, they pick up any left over homework from the mornings and aim to complete before dinner. My husband and I try to wrap up our work before 6pm. 

In the evenings, after dinner, we wind down by going for a walk around our estate ( with masks on ! ) and enjoy the last bit of sunshine and fresh air before dusk hits. We then spend quality time with Ollie and Kaeson, reading books, playing board games or hanging out virtually with some of their friends. After both the boys sleep, my husband and I will log back on if need be to complete work for the day and balance it time that we completely switch off to unwind.

How has been your WFH with children experience? 

Developing a new structure , transition to a new normal and remaining flexible at the same time. 

Parenting tips: 

1)Dedicating a parent to 1 child/ or both and swapping out childcare duties according to our work schedules. This creates blocks of time whereby 1 of us can be productive at work. 

2)With all of us under the same roof until the lockdown lifts, every bit of positivity works, the children soak up the vibes in the environment! 

3) Celebrating good behavior & having a reward system. This has worked really well with Ollie and Kaeson. 

4) Practicing Patience, being present and deep breathing! Whilst I know at times, you can only think of your outstanding work while managing your child’s 10th question of the day, I’ve noticed that being fully present with your child makes a difference. This requires a mindset shift from both me and my husband. I’m not going to lie, it's hard, and we are practicing as we adapt to this new normal! 

What are your challenges about WFH with children? 

There’s been different challenges coming up on a daily basis , and we are trying to adapt and come up with our own rhythm that works for us as a family. 

Both children are adapting to self directed learnings and managing their lessons without the presence of a teacher. At their age, they struggle with technical issues such as videos not loading, how to navigate zoom sessions. Parents often have to be present to troubleshoot their zoom learnings or interactive sessions. 

On a daily basis, I have to communicate with 6 different teachers, using a range of different platforms and tools. It can be overwhelming at times, but I’ve found that having a schedule and structure to it works out well for us. 

What type of activity is working for your child while you are working, having meetings, etc?

Morning Yoga by Cosmic Kids, Reading Books , TV shows, Activity books, Word Puzzles, and Jigsaw Puzzles.

Aaron Soh 

Sales Manager in Singapore office

Child's age: 2 years old

Could you share your work and how a day looks like? 

630am - wake up and freshen up

7am - breakfast (feeding my girl - Hisa)

730am - clean the house (e.g destruction made by the little one the day before)

8am - 1130am - start working 

1130am - exercise break 

12pm - lunch

1pm - 6pm (work)

There will be a good portion of time throughout the day where we will have to clean up, cuddle and accompany Hisa on various activities.

How has been your WFH with children experience? 

It's been great so far since I hardly had time when I was working in the office. It's mentally stressful though as both wife and I are working and we have calls to attend to and there will be times Hisa needs to operate independently which is hard at her age since she doesn't have the sense of awareness (e.g.danger). We resorted to extending screening time (TV) to keep her occupied which is not ideal by any extent. 

What are your challenges about WFH with children? 

Attention. My 2 years old can't sit still and requires TLC (tender, loving, care) most of the time and will react (e.g throwing a fuss) if she doesn't receive that. It's challenging to find the balance between work and Hisa time since she doesn’t necessarily “comply” with our working hours and will need attention at any given time and there will be instances where there’s finally some downtime outside the core work hours but she might not need our attention. 

What type of activity is working for your child while you are working, having meetings, etc?

Reading books. Pointing at random objects and calling out its names, TV, zoom call with other kids, exercising together.

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That's all from APAC! Thank you again for sharing your experience Reena, Shahid, Jia Hui, Elayne and Aaron!(Here's the link to APAC edition Part 1)

We hope this content will help those who are in the same situation And please feel free to share your own experiences and tips here too!

We will publish EMEA edition soon!