Entertaining a 13 month old whilst working from home

[Mummysparrow]

My childminder is on holiday for 2 and a half weeks in August and despite my best attempts I have only managed to arrange childcare for 5 of those days with another childminder. All childminders local to me are either fully booked or have holiday in August as well (or both). Not family close by to help and I was hoping to get my 18 year sister to help for a few days (as she loves babysitting her nieces and nephews) but she has recently got a boyfriend so no longer interested in helping.
I work from home a few days a week and few days in office. Hubby is going to work from home when he can (mainly when I am in office) so we have no choice to have her at home whilst we work.
Any suggestions on how to keep a 13 month old occupied without just shoving her in front of the TV every single day (as she will inevitably get bored)? Sensory activities welcomed. I just need to put a plan in place so I can rotate activities that will keep her occupied for more than 5 minutes at a time.
I am really not looking forward to it but really don't have much choice. I can't really take unpaid leave as it will mean I won't have enough money to pay the next month's childcare.

If you need to cover 8 days, you and your DP take 4 days annual leave each. Entirely unreasonable to your child or your employer to do otherwise.

I think it is doable for 5 days if both you and DH flex your hours so you work early morning and evenings plus while she naps.

you also need to take separate lunch breaks and spend that time giving her undivided attention and trying to wear her out, preferably outside. At least 1 hour Of cbeebies during the day. Between the 2 of you, you should be able to get at least 4 hours of work done during 9-5 hours if you do that. One of you looks after her in the morning and the other in the afternoon and you should get another 2 hours in each. Then cover the rest during the early morning and evening while the other person looks after her.

I wouldn’t try setting her up with activities on her own and trying to work. It’s just not feasible at that age. Be thankful if you are able to squeeze in a quick check of your email.

I was a childminder.. i would say not a chance..

Nap times/ can dh go into work late then you start early..A 13 month old would not sit and watch Tv.

Probably at thus age walking or crusing? I would say one of the most intensive ages for physical care.

I would also try sister again. Make her a great offer

Yep absolutely not doable if you want to keep your child safe. My DD was also 13 months at the outbreak of Covid19 and I was working from home. From about 3 days in it was pretty clear I’d need to take a career break (couldn’t furlough as I was an essential worker). So I had to take unpaid leave for nearly six months.
honestly at that age unless they are asleep you need your eyes on them all the time. Playpen for v short bursts, like when you’re cooking of having a shower. But anything constructive just isn’t doable.
We are not allowed Pre school age children at home when we are working from home. And for good reason.
you need to take annual leave. It sucks but it’s what the rest of the working population do when their childminder is on holiday. You and her dad need to take a week off each.

When I was looking after my 18 month old granddaughter I took a phone call, turned my back for 3 minutes and in that time she’d drawn all over her face in felt pen - NOT the washable type, the Sharpie type. EEK😂

I would take unpaid leave if I could but I can't afford to take a £1k pay hit for 8 days leave as I wouldn't be able to afford the childcare for the rest of the month and bills. I have offered to pay my 18 year old sister (I would never have asked her to do it for free) but apparently sex with her boyfriend before she goes to university is more exciting 🤣 I really don't want a different person looking after her everyday and nannies are really expensive. Pretty much the same pay as my hourly pay. Believe me I have looked into those options

We did two days of this when our little one was a similar age as we all had norovirus and we weren't allowed back to nursery for a few days after it had cleared up.

I worked from the kitchen and DH in the living room and we gated off our hall way and stairs and popped some toys in for him to play with. Ot was essentially a huge play pen but It was very stressful.

The only time I was able to get anything done really was while he napped in the afternoon but my productivity was appalling as was my concentration and the guilt for not interacting with my son was huge. Vowed never to do it again.

Could you and your DH do as others have suggested and take it in turns or maybe offer to pay your sister which may sway her to help?

DD1 was 16mo when lockdown 1 hit. DH couldn’t work for the first six weeks so that was fine, but after that I was trying to teach from home with her around. Despite as much help as I could get from my dad running around in a socially distanced way in the garden with her where possible and a huge amount of Bing, it still did not go well. She blocked the toilet throwing socks down it while I was responding to parent queries, and nearly fell off the decking while I was marking work online. Im a primary teacher so like to think I’m fairly good at multitasking but it honestly just did not work. I nearly cried with relief when grandparent childcare was allowed again/nursery finally let her come back.

Honestly, either bribe your sister or advertise for local babysitters as others have suggested.

Not doable!
dont you have annual leave Op? That’s what it’s for once you have kids, filling in the childcare holes

Is there a reason you and DH can’t take annual leave to cover it?

I have to say, the replies to this are making me understand why I still don't feel like I've really recovered from working with a toddler at home during lockdowns.

Seriously OP - this is really wanting to have your cake and eat it!! Want to get paid by your employer for doing your job but we all know that you can't do a job and keep a 13 month old entertained/safe simultaneously, don't want someone other than your sister to help even though you will be in the house and there are plentiful teenagers around over the summer holiday. From your posts it seems to be you that is planning to do all the childcare rather than sharing it with your partner - this is the sort of approach that makes people doubt that women working from home are really working!!

But as you are looking for suggestions - about 20 years ago when I was travelling around rural China I saw a number of very small toddlers in baby walkers just outside the front doors, the baby walkers were tied to the house so that they couldn't go far. Adults were (I assume) in the house working. The babies seemed happy enough - maybe go for doing that whilst you are working - it's free, your baby can be entertained by watching the world go by, you can get a proper job done with no interruptions and won't need to have someone you don't know looking after your baby.

Why can't you take annual leave?

You really shouldn’t do this, it’s not fair on your dc and could actually be dangerous. Lots of workplaces have a rule that you can’t wfh with young dc at home so you may be breaching work policy too.

I bet if you put a message out on your local Facebook group or similar you'd find a willing teenager who could play with her at home. You'd be there in case of any problem. My daughter has done this quite often since the age of 14. You don't need someone who you'd totally trust to look after your child on their own like you would if you were actually going to be out of the house.

I think you need to revisit the issue with your sister and put it on the basis of a family emergency. It's really not fair to your employer or coworkers.

Or find teens in the neighborhood.

I work from home part time and my daughter does half the time at nursery and half the time at home with me. I’ve been promoted to deputy manager with this arrangement so can’t have been doing too badly.

I work a lot during nap times and in the evening. During the day if I need to get work done she’d happily do colouring for a while or water paints at that age, duplo got a good amount of time, sensory trays. If I had a meeting she’d happily watch Moana or Frozen for half an hour.

Do you have a local school/college that does a child development GCSE or similar, could you ask whether a student might like to get some additional paid experience?

Otherwise I think you need to be upfront with your employer about what you can/can't do. If you can work 6am-9am with DH covering the morning and then 6pm-11pm (also with DH covering) you might be able to do your hours particularly if DC has a decent nap. You will both be shattered but might just manage it.

Otherwise could you work a half day with a heavy reliance on CBeebies and make up the time at the weekend or over the next month? Again I would be upfront with your employer, it rather depends on the job that you do.

Just to reiterate what some others have said. I worked from home with an 18 month old during first lockdown and it was absolutely horrendous. You simply can't do both.

Like a PP I still feel quite raw from it.

If you are earning £1k every 8 days you are not struggling financially. Obviously you can't work.

Would your sister do mornings, leaving afternoon and evenings free for the boyfriend? You could get a full morning’s work in, then take your lunch break, feed LO, put them down for a nap and if they’re a good napper you’ll get another 2 hours. Then that only leaves you with say 3-5pm to juggle and you can go heavy on the TV and snacks.

Failing that then does your sister have any responsible friends looking to earn some cash before uni? Or neighbours with teens? As you’ll be in the house and can regularly check in, you can be a bit less fussy about who you hire but I think you need someone.

Could you or DH take half days of leave (paid or unpaid) and flex the other half day, so depending on bed times work 8-1130pm or 5-8am and during afternoon nap? If it’s 8 days it would be 2 days leave each.

We did two hours on, two hours off, alternating who was working during the first lockdown whilst DD was at home. DH started work at 6am and I used annual leave to reduce my hours down a bit as well.

It was exhausting and meant my concentration was shot to pieces!

we are not allowed to do this at my work - it would mean a disciplinary

Seriously you want to take a look at yourself. If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say it at all. It's called having to do what you have to do. I can't claim UC and I have a mortgage to pay. Do you really think I want to have my daughter at home? No I don't, that's why I normally pay for full time childcare. I have tried hard to find childcare solutions. My mum has my autistic brother at home so she can't help, my other sister lives 3 hours away and has work herself. Could you truly say you would be happy with a teenager you have never met before (and no childcare qualifications) looking after your young child who doesn't like strangers?

You are all a very judgemental bunch. I am Just a desperate mum looking for solutions