10 Ways to Keep Kids Busy as a Working Mom

If you are a working mom and have a product-based business where you must pack or make physical items to make a sale, I have a list of activities for your kids. During the first few years of opening my business, I often took all five of my kids, who were under ten, with me to work and I had to learn to keep them busy. Some days it was a piece of cake and they all got along. On other days, we had lots of breaks to resolve issues like sharing, yelling and sometimes tears. I had to get creative and often had to clean up a mess after a long day of baking with them, but I learned how to balance being a working mom pretty quickly (thank you to my kids). 

Here are 10 ways to keep kids busy as a working mom:

1. Reading

This is a very easy way of keeping school-age kids busy. Children under seven typically love easy reads and picture books while second grade and up started enjoying chapter books. We would stop by the local public library, pick up a bag full of reads and head to the kitchen. This gave me a good hour of undivided attention to focus on my work. When they started to get bored with reading, I would start asking about what they read or ask them to read to each other for a little while.

2. Legos

This was an easy way for me to keep the kids busy. We had quite a large collection of legos so we took a portion with us to the shop regularly. I would challenge them to build all kinds of creations. They loved showing those off to me and the customers. It was a fun time. This is the lego set I recommend. It’s a variety pack and kids can build whatever they please with no particular structure attached to design.

3. Allow them to help – kid-safe activities

I don’t know about your kids, but mine always ask if they can help with anything. This is not a very efficient way of working, but when balancing mom life and entrepreneurship all together, you become very creative to keep a relationship with your kids and still get the job done. Here are some things my kids liked to help within the kitchen. It was a learning experience and always a fun time connecting. 

1. 1. Fold boxes
   2. Fold towels
   3. Fill out the whiteboard calendar
   4. Check out customers
   5. Count money

4. Build Forts with Boxes

We would get shipments and some of the boxes were big enough to make a fort, so we had lots of tunnels in the shop made of cardboard. I wasn’t able to help them build these forts so they came up with some cool ideas. This kept them busy pretty much the entire day. It was a wonderful activity. 

5. Ipad Time

Electronics to the rescue. I didn’t like using this one often. I wanted my kids to experience the world just as I did, but this was one activity I incorporated especially on the busy days where I needed to focus intentionally on the work I did. All five babies would crowd around this tiny screen and watch a movie. It was so cute to watch them pile on each other and get so quiet around that screen. So, don’t feel guilty for allowing your kids a healthy amount of screen time. 

6. Homework

Even if there was no homework, we printed free worksheets off Google to make homework happen. Math, spelling quizzes, art, gym, whatever kept them learning. This activity is a little more active. I had to keep an open mind to answer questions and make sure I was mixing the right ingredients at the right time. 

7. Play a Game

Monopoly, Candy Land, oversized Uno, puzzles, duck-duck-goose, anything that helped them work together and stay together. At that age, they can get competitive and losing was a catastrophe. Tears were shed and the indoor voice rule was forgotten way too often. They did learn to work as a team though!

8. Coloring

Bring lots of coloring pages! They color fast! After you run out of coloring pages, make them flip those pages and draw the cake you made or whatever your product is you are selling. Grab a coloring book from Dollar Tree and this will be a great bake day!

9. Play Dough

This set can get messy, but also will keep the kids busy for a very long time. They start molding all kinds of cool things. Clean-up is necessary after this one. Some days you just need to pick this battle. 

10. Make a Play

My kids loved creating their own plays and skits to show me and my husband. It was the cutest thing! Their imagination creates something interesting or they copycat what they see in life. It’s a way to learn more about your kids and what goes on in their inner world. 

Get Them Kids Busy!

So, go for it momma! You’ve got this. My kids still talk about these moments and how much fun it was to go to work with mom. Make you working mom life as enjoyable as possible because  it’s very worth it.