Zeki Learning Blog

Juggling Parenthood and Entrepreneurship: Tips for Success

Starting a business from home can be a smart and effective decision. If you are a new parent, balancing your baby and your new business is a challenge. Follow these tips from Zeki Learning to juggle running a new business and parenting.

Create Your Business Strategy

The work and family balance gets a lot easier when you have a clear strategy. No business is built overnight. Businesses take time to reach success. If you are worried about the stress of running a business, find a like-minded partner. Before you take the plunge into operating a business out of your home, make sure that you know your company’s mission, where you’ll receive funding, and how you’ll make a profit.

Also, consider an LLC for your home-based business. Forming an LLC protects you because you won’t be accountable for business debts and liabilities. LLCs have less paperwork and more flexibility. Tax advantages include the ability to choose how you’ll be taxed. You can be taxed as a sole proprietor, a partnership, S corporation or C corporation. Make sure to check the rules ahead of time before getting started with Texas LLC registration. To help with the legwork, you can use a formation service.

Develop a Routine

According to experts in child development, naps are critical for your baby’s development. Newborns cannot tell morning from evening, and the routine can aid them in establishing a circadian rhythm.

Around four to six weeks of age, start dimming the lights, bathing and feeding your child at night. At three months, you can start incorporating rituals into the day. If you journal your baby’s feeding and sleeping schedule, you can establish a routine.

Routine is also critical to those who work from home. Try to schedule all your tasks for the day. While working from home with a baby does demand some flexibility, a schedule can keep you on task when necessary.

If your baby is old enough for you to schedule naps or if you log what times your baby is most likely to nap, you can take advantage of it and get some work in.

Hire a Babysitter

If you need to focus on your work throughout the day, then you might want to consider a babysitter. Even if you work from home, you may not be able to give your baby your full attention. There are websites that cater to finding someone who specializes in childcare.

Let Technology Help

If you need to be alone while working, there are baby monitors that utilize the latest technologies so that you can watch your baby when he or she is out of the room. There are also sound machines that can soothe your baby to sleep or emit a soft glow.

Consider using mobile apps to track your baby as well. There are apps that help with pregnancy, finding childcare and logging your baby’s habits.

Running a business from home has its share of obstacles, but when you’re a new parent, there are more to consider. The best piece of advice is to find a routine and stick to it. When you have a plan, it is easier to balance parenting and your new business.

Enhance your child’s learning experience with Zeki Learning toys. Our handmade products are Fair Trade Certified and designed to aid a child's growth and development.

Cover image via Pexels

How to Keep The Peace When The Weather Means Staying Indoors

Oh, the weather outside is so frightful! If you’re stuck inside with kids during the winter, that doesn’t mean that your life has to be anything but delightful. That is, if you plan ahead and make sure you have a routine that will keep your family from getting bored and cranky.

Which is why Zeki Learning wants parents like you to have this winter weather survival guide!

It’s Okay to Let Your Kids Use Tech

As much as we use it in our everyday lives, tech has gotten a bad rap with parents. Although screen limits are still up for debate, most experts agree that the type of activities your kids use their tech for is much more important than how long they use it. With so many educational and skill-building games, videos and apps out there, finding quality content is easier than ever.

Think you can’t afford a tablet just for your kids? Well if you shop carefully, you may find that the latest tablets, smartphones and other gadgets are well within your reach! You see, most wireless companies will deeply discount tech when you trade-in or upgrade your existing device. The savings are even sweeter if you’re a new customer!

Unless You Have Younger Children

If it helps keep your home serene in the winter, some extra screen time won’t harm your older children. For kids ages 2 to 5, however, the use of tech and screens should be limited to an hour or less each day. That means you will need to find other ways to fill the remaining hours, but don’t stress out just yet! Younger kids can actually be much easier to keep busy.

One simple and affordable trick is to stock up on learning toys from Zeki Learning. Your little ones will have a blast playing with puzzles, story books and all of the other creative toys Zeki Learning has in their lineup. Also, every toy is soft and safe enough for kids to play with on their own.

Arts and Crafts are Another Fun Activity

Toys and tech will only occupy little ones for so long, but you can also look for fun arts and crafts to keep the winter blues and boredom away. Now the first thing that comes to mind when you think of art and your younger children may be a big mess. If you use these ideas from the craft queen herself, Martha Stewart, you can keep creative projects tidy and fun for everyone.

Prefer to let your kids express themselves with paint and other mess-making materials? You may be onto something! Studies have shown that allowing children time to explore their creative passions can be very good for their development. If you do want to keep spills and accidents from leaving marks on your home, you could always set up a dedicated art corner for your kids.

Your Kids Also Need to Get Up and Move

All of the indoor activities already mentioned can help your kids stay busy, and that can be good for your productivity when you have other responsibilities on your plate. You need this sort of balance of structure and routine to maintain order when your family is stuck inside together, especially if you are working from home. But it’s also important for everyone to stay active!

When you can’t get outside for play and exercise, you can schedule breaks for online workouts instead. Here’s a huge list of videos and workouts to help get you started, and it includes plenty of ideas for both adults and children. That means you can either hit “play” and let your kids burn off excess energy alone, or you can get in on the fun for some family fitness time.

Don’t let frightful weather create chaos inside for your family! Be prepared with a mix of educational, active and creative activities to fill those down hours. Creating consistent routines with just the right amount of flexibility is the best way to survive the winter, or any time when the weather is too bleak, rainy or cold to get outdoors. Also remember to leave time for fun!

Written by: thespencersadventures.net

Photo Credit: Unsplash

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