WEBVTT - The New Corner Office: Put your kids to work

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the

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<v Speaker 1>new world of work, where location and hours are more

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<v Speaker 1>flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to put

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<v Speaker 1>your kids to work. If you're working at home, the

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<v Speaker 1>lines between work and home can be blurred. There are

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<v Speaker 1>downsides to this, as anyone who spent an evening half

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<v Speaker 1>checking email and half puttering around the house knows. But

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<v Speaker 1>if your teen and preteen kids are around the house

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<v Speaker 1>a lot more this summer because of canceled camps or

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<v Speaker 1>summer jobs, then you might be able to put them

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<v Speaker 1>on your team, so to speak, so you can be

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<v Speaker 1>at least a little more productive. One obvious approach specialize

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<v Speaker 1>Mom and dad specialize in their paid work. The kids

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<v Speaker 1>can specialize in more of the home tasks so you

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<v Speaker 1>can focus on your job. Kids who are older than

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<v Speaker 1>about ten or so can learn to make simple meals

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<v Speaker 1>like pasta with jarred sauce and a bagged salad or

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<v Speaker 1>scrambled eggs with cut up fruit. Teenagers might enjoy cooking

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<v Speaker 1>from meal kits like those from sun Basket or Hello Fresh.

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<v Speaker 1>There's nothing quite like hanging up from your last client

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<v Speaker 1>call at six pm to emerge to dinner on the table. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>it could work in any case. They can definitely help

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<v Speaker 1>with laundry and keeping the house tidy so you don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to do these things. Older children can also entertain

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<v Speaker 1>younger children if you have a call during a time

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<v Speaker 1>that you don't normally have childcare all day. Childcare is

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<v Speaker 1>more in the realm of actual adults, like if you're

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen year old is home from college, but an eleven

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<v Speaker 1>year old could build block towers for a three year

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<v Speaker 1>old to knock down for thirty minutes or so in

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<v Speaker 1>a pinch. I have strongly encouraged my older children to

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<v Speaker 1>play Minecraft with the five year old when I need

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<v Speaker 1>to knock a few things out. If you work for yourself,

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<v Speaker 1>you can use your kids for various clerical tasks. They

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<v Speaker 1>can help stuff and stamp envelopes, or scan or make copies.

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<v Speaker 1>A teenager might be able to bike to the post

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<v Speaker 1>office for you. He or she might be able to

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<v Speaker 1>proof free documents. Your kids might have ideas for social

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<v Speaker 1>media posts or campaigns. My thirteen year old has written

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<v Speaker 1>blog posts for me. If your kids are crack googlers,

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<v Speaker 1>you can send them hunting for specific statistics or research studies,

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<v Speaker 1>or possibly have them read and summarize books for you.

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<v Speaker 1>Mine sometimes come up with podcast ideas for me. In

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<v Speaker 1>any case, the whole concept of take our Sons and

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<v Speaker 1>Daughters to Work Day is that the world of work

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<v Speaker 1>seems very remote to the average child. It's this mysterious

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<v Speaker 1>place that mom and dad go and that you don't

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<v Speaker 1>really know what's going on. But if you work from home,

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<v Speaker 1>they can know pretty much exactly what's going on, and

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes they can even be part of it. That's work

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<v Speaker 1>life integration and I think it's a lot of fun.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's the succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New

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<v Speaker 1>Corner Office is a production of I Heart Radio. For

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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