Yesterday, I wrote about how I am getting a nanny to help me with my son over the summer. I will be able to get a childcare tax credit for hiring my cousin, and I will be able to get my work done. As is often the case when people find out that I use childcare (I did before my son started school), they wonder why I need it when I work from home.

Getting more done when you have child care help

The advantages of having a home business when it comes to your children, in my opinion, are mostly centered around the idea of flexibility and being here. It means that I can take some time to play a game, and that I spend more time with my son than I would if I were gone for normal business hours. And it means that I can schedule my home business hours around going in to the school to help, and that I’m here if something (like an illness) comes up. But it doesn’t mean I don’t need help.

Having someone watch my son for a few hours a week allows me the time to get my work done more efficiently. I figure that if my cousin can nanny the boy for 4-5 hours in the morning (I plan to have her take care of him from 8 am to noon or 1 pm), I can get all my work from home stuff done and be ready to spend quality time with my son all afternoon. I get uninterrupted work — making me more productive — and he still gets the attention he needs. Plus, if anything goes wrong, I’m still right here.