11 Tips for Parents Who Work from Home and Virtual School Kids

Prepare a schedule that suits the family. Kids and parents do better on routines. Schedules often bring order to chaos. Use your kids’ school schedule and your working hours to plan a daily routine. This routine could cover an entire day— from when you wake up to when everyone retires to bed — and include:

• Physical activities 
• Learning periods
• Breaks
• Mealtime
• Bedtime

To prevent distraction and improve concentration, create a personalized workspace for everyone. These workspaces could range from a room to a kitchen table. Such areas should be quiet and with limited distractions for quality virtual schooling.

Communicating regularly with your children will provide you with all the necessary information to relate with them appropriately. Parents who work from home and have virtual school kids need to know what's going on with their kids for better interaction and enhanced productivity. Keep a tab on the following information about your children:

• Physical health
• Mental health
• School assignments
• Relationships

Regular communication shows love and care and builds the bond within a family. It also improves the behavioral health and performance of kids.

Health issues like depression and obesity are associated with spending prolonged durations before the screen. Your kids should be allowed to take breaks from virtual learning activities that require sitting before the screen.

Our brains aren’t idle when we take breaks. They process memories and make sense of what we experience. Breaks help our brains stay healthy and have enhanced reading comprehension.

Creating time for exercise is essential for the physical development of your kids. Since they'll be mostly indoors, the usual physical activities that kids engage in are gone. As a family, you can set apart time to exercise together.

The most suitable time to do this is early in the morning, and that’s because repeated physical activities before your child starts learning can improve their focus on learning.

While parents working from home with virtual school kids often involve themselves in many of their kids' school activities, it's better to grow their independence. Provide necessary assistance when needed. But when a child pushes for independence, try to encourage it as much as possible. It'll prevent overdependence on you in the future.

The relationships developed by kids with their school friends help improve their academic performance.

Making friends supports emotional and social development in children. Self-esteem, self-confidence, and social competence are also linked to children’s interactions with their peers.

As parents who work from home and have virtual school kids, these tips will help you stay productive and keep your kids healthy. While working from home with virtual school kids can be challenging, you need to find ways of enjoying the time spent at home with your kids.

Be deliberate about their learning and physical activities. Don’t forget to carry them along in your plans. Also, treat them with respect and they will interact with you respectfully.