There is no question that the benefits of being a work-at-home parent outweigh the drawbacks. However, some days can be difficult when your two-year-old is determined to climb on top of his filing cabinet while he tries to participate in an important conference call.

Here are ten tips that can help make your life easier and your little ones happy while working at home.

Set up a small desk for your little assistant in your home office, close enough that you can keep an eye on it, but far enough away that you can focus on your work.

Tell your son that he is his personal assistant in training and emphasize how important it is for him to have this title and his own area of ​​work.

Provide your child with some tools similar to the ones on your desk. Carefully select only the safest items that are virtually indestructible. Your child’s active imagination and natural curiosity can easily lead to disaster if he gets his hands on the wrong device.

Assign your new assistant important job responsibilities. Young children love to imitate adults, especially their parents. Depending on the type of business you operate from your home, you can envision tasks that reflect what your child sees you do every day.

One task that may delight your toddler is opening the mail. Give your child spam, ads, or anything else they don’t want to read. Provide a small trash can or a place for him to dump the envelope if that’s what he usually does.

Another job that can excite your child and potentially occupy him for more than an hour is organizing his outdated files, old business cards, duplicate copies, drafts, and any other intrusive paper. The key to this little task is to place the files to be organized in a basket or filing cabinet and provide an empty desk drawer or old briefcase for your toddler to transfer papers to and from, possibly repeatedly. If you can focus on her work and train your new assistant at the same time, you can stimulate her thinking by starting to count the papers you’re moving from the basket to the desk drawer.

A must-have for your new little employee is a notepad or notebook similar to the type you use to take notes, and crayons (if you accept such a “childish” writing instrument). Encourage your child to draw a picture for you, and be sure to praise the final product. The more compliments he hears from you, the more your child will want to continue creating special pictures for you, or for Grandma, Aunt Jeannie, Uncle Timmy, etc. Take a short break or make it a routine to hang your child’s masterpieces in her office at the end of the day. He’ll feel like he accomplished something that made you proud. Let your child help you tape her work to the side of your desk or to the wall. You will be amazed at how intrigued your toddler is with the ribbon!

A whiteboard is an easy and inexpensive addition to your home office that you may never need, but your assistant-in-training will probably use it every day. If you buy the large sidewalk chalk, your child will be less likely to decide to try the brightly colored sticks. If he or she tries to bite, the chances of choking are reduced by these thick pieces of chalk. Make a production by adding this new item to your office. Pretend you need it to use it to record your daily business reminders. Your child will be more eager to get his hands on something he sees you wearing. A word of caution: while this inexpensive addition to your office may offer a new outlet for your child’s creativity, it will usually lead to the need for a quick bath at the end of the work day!

There are some items that are actually “toys” but can pass for “tools” (similar to the machines you use every day) to add to your new assistant’s desktop. Various toy companies make mini-versions of adult products, such as small battery-operated computers designed to teach your child the alphabet or animal sounds; phones that ring by themselves and answer to your child; and musical keyboards that play tunes automatically and also allow your toddler to make their own tunes. Your toddler may be content to imitate you with toys, like these, that look or sound just like their desktop devices.

Depending on the location of your office, the layout of your home, and your child’s level of independence, you may be able to designate tasks that require him to leave your office to find a phone book for you or to locate that large envelope that It came in the mail the other day. You can deliberately forget to collect all the items you’ll need to complete your work that day, or you can ask your little assistant to find items that he doesn’t really need to have right away. Young children usually like to search for things, especially when they think they are helping mom or dad. Be sure to thank your son and congratulate him on being able to find exactly what he wanted!