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Comment by dpeterson | Hacker News Reader

Do you have toddlers too or just the infant? I have a 3 year old at home and I work from home 2 days a week. It was fine when he was an infant but now I have to work either from Whole Foods or the library. It is challenging. I can't just get up and go to the bathroom and leave my stuff. If I try to work from home my 3 year old son demands my attention. I am desperate for a secure place to work from. I was hoping Lifetime Fitness would put one of their new co-work offices in my location but that may be a long time out. I'm just curious if you have plans for when your infant gets older. Maybe I am doing it wrong but there is 0 chance to work when I am in the house with him.

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I’m also calling foul here: there is no way I could ever work in my office if my toddler was in the house without another adult supervising. Even if there is, the best I can do is lock the office door and hide from him...

One of my friends does nanny share and can work in his basement. That would work well, but you still have to be in stealth mode around the kiddies.

Wait, you're saying it's easier when they're an infant? Uh oh. I'm in trouble!

Once they're mobile, it gets many times harder. It goes something like this:

- Newborn to ~6-9 months: not mobile, and not too demanding either (especially early on)

- 6-9 months to 3 years: mobile and constantly trying to hurt themselves

- 3-5 years: mobile, mostly safe, but not understanding what "no" or "I'm busy right now" or "I'm on the phone" or "I need privacy" means; also not napping anymore, which means you lose that daily couple hours of bliss

- >5 years: gets progressively easier as kids begin to get independent and (somewhat) reasonable

Of course, this timeline is different for every kid.

We have four kids ranging in age from 1-7 years old. I work from home, but rarely am I in charge of taking care of the kids (right now, for instance, my mom is watching them while my wife runs errands). On the occasions where I am solely responsible for them, I consider any work I get done to be a bonus.

You've got such a great mom to help you out in this way.

We're incredibly fortunate to have family nearby that is able and willing to help.

Infants are a dream compared to toddlers. Apart from when they need to be fed or changed, infants do practically nothing and don't have to be watched constantly.

Toddlers, on the other hand, are little balls of pure energy that get into anything and everything they can touch.

Much, much easier with just one infant. I have a 5-year-old, 2.5-year-old, and 6-month infant at home. I'm considering keypad locks for the bedroom and office. I take calls from the closet or from the inside of a car.

Put whiskey in their drinks and you'll be fine

Much easier if the infant isn’t fussy. Kids have “features” that light up every few weeks.

It was hardest for me around 3... my son just wanted to play all of the time.

Yup, between 1 and 5 they’re mobile and active enough to require constant engagement but mostly not self-reliant enough to find it themselves. It varies a lot based on the child though.

Ha, I see others have written great responses to this already. I have heard not all children are difficult. I personally can't imagine such a thing, but I have one of those "spirited" children. The comment below from syedkarim about putting locks on the doors made me laugh. I tried that with limited success.

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