Managing Multiple Children at Home | Parent's Guide - Session 4

The support and education sessions are designed for parents to help them learn from positive parenting strategies at home, especially in challenging times like the recent pandemic when everyone was quarantined at home.

In our previous video, “Support and Education for Parents – Session 3,” we discussed how to implement positive parenting strategies to help them set boundaries for their children. This video aims to provide parents with ideas and suggestions on managing multiple children and ensuring they are occupied with their respective work.

With everyone being quarantined at home during the pandemic, it became more challenging for parents to work from home with their children.

The session discusses about how to manage children of different age groups and keep them engaged in various activities effectively. Such activities also help in developing fine motor skills, order, hand-eye coordination, and concentration in the children.

10 Tips For Managing Multiple Children at Home Effectively

In the video, the author has discussed how following these tips will help you in raising and managing multiple children at home effectively.

Having enough patience- We as parents are more capable of keeping patience and calm when raising our different-aged children because having multiple children doesn’t mean giving up on their education or other activities. Though it gets tiring, providing children with age-appropriate activities to reach their full potential in a way that is fitting for who they are.
Setting up the goal- By setting up goals helps in maintaining a home and school connection that provides support for the families and provides engagement for the children. Before implementing any strategy, we must understand the goal and children’s social and emotional needs. For example–what is the goal of the distance learning program that your children are working on or what is your goal for them to reach the end of the school year, etc? Once the goal is identified, you can start implementing the plan into action.
Creating a stress-free environment– The main objective of this parenting series is that our children must stay happy, healthy, and eager to learn while maintaining the thirst for knowledge and exploration. There is no need to create unnecessary chores or a stress-filled environment because, in a stressed environment, a child cannot learn things at the core.
Categorizing the children – It is crucial to categorize your kids and provide each child with a specific area and time that they can use for playing, learning, etc. For instance, you can ask them to do their chores before playing or watching television. It is best to give each child appropriate time slots so that the house runs smoothly without any arguments or fights between siblings. You should make sure that each one of your children gets an ample amount of personal space where they can play, learn, sleep, etc. This way, there will be no complaints from anyone about another sibling hogging all the space!
Creating a schedule– Parents need to understand the school time and personal time so that they can create a balance in their child’s life. Distinguishing between one child’s needs and capabilities and that of another helps you to create a space where neither the work of either child is compromised. This will help to respect each child’s needs and avoid conflicts while creating a schedule.
Healthy conversations- Parents must use their calm and patience to explain to their children why there are certain limitations during certain times and help them develop a conscience or care or empathy for the child.
Finding activities helps in the development of the whole child – Finding activities doesn’t mean it has to be schoolwork, it can be some work such as Montessori practical life activities such as pouring activities or food preparation activities, etc that helps to engage toddlers for a longer duration and at the same time, they are mastering a life skill. These activities help them find out how the world works and develop fine motor skills and concentration whereas for little older children you can let them just move and run and explore and discover things as it helps them to develop gross motor.
Converting zoom meetings into social meetings- Parents should allow their children to work together with other children or friends over a zoom meeting as it allows them to feel connected and engaged. You can ask them to create a presentation on a topic together. Parents can assess how much their child needs them academically and find a way to satisfy those needs.
Assist children to develop confidence than their school work – Children are fully capable of learning things and doing their work. Assist children to develop confidence. Usually, as parents, we tend to focus on the completion of a child’s schoolwork. Instead, we should allow them to explore, learn and do their work. They must know that they can come to you if they need you. Give them prompting tools that remind them that they have the answer and commend them. Assure them that they’re on the right track.
Raising children and recognizing their efforts – Parents must recognize the efforts a child has put into work rather than focusing on raising children. This helps them channel their energy because that energy is beautiful. Don’t quench the spirit of determination or inquisitiveness of the strong-willed child as it motivates children to be more productive. Help them channel it so their spirit and their energy can be focused on an amazing exploration and achievement. Give them opportunities to let it out while also helping them to channel it.

Managing multiple children at home is not easy, therefore, parents should understand children’s intensity and convert them into productive work.

We as parents need to give attention to all the children while managing our work and set boundaries for positive well-being. When a child is feeling frustrated, it doesn’t mean we have to give in. This gives them an unworkable measure of control, and they will then use that control to manipulate situations. As a form of control, that is not effective, so being firm in those boundaries will help them cope with the physical manifestations of their frustration.

Additionally, the video also talks about the importance of respecting children by acknowledging them and listening to them.

Watch the video to discover these parenting tips with examples for successfully managing different ages of children at home.

Parent’s Support and Education – Session 4: Managing Multiple Children at Home

10 Tips For Managing Multiple Children at Home Effectively

Related Video Resources