Being a work-at-home-mom is both fulfilling and challenging. While you love earning an income from your home office and having a reasonably flexible schedule that allows you to spend plenty of time with your kids, those same kids can sometimes wreak havoc on your workday and work supplies.
Despite your best efforts, even if you try to schedule most of your work while your kids are in school or while they’re asleep, school breaks and summer vacations usually mean juggling work and the kids. And, since kids are naturally curious and want to try out all of your work equipment, you might have issues with broken headphones, cracked computer screens and more. Of course, you can and should make certain that work supplies stay off limits to your kiddos, but you also want to purchase rugged items that will withstand a lot of use. With this in mind, check out the following kid-friendly home office tech devices that can get the job done.
A Tough Smartphone
Chances are you use a smartphone quite often for your home-based business. From calling clients to checking emails while watching a movie with your kiddos, it’s probably your go-to device for many tasks. Smartphones also vary widely in terms of their durability; some can handle an accidental drop like a pro, while others seem like they will shatter if you sneeze on them.
If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, check out the LG V10. With its stainless steel siderails, reinforced frame, super-strong duraglass and unique textured body that protects it from accidental drops, the LG V10 will stand up to your most butterfingered kiddo. The smartphone also has plenty of WAHM-friendly features to help you in your work, such as a battery with up to 21 hours of talk time, 4 gigabytes of RAM and a 1.8 gigahertz hexa-core processor.
Durable Earbuds
If you’re scheduled to take part in a webinar or routinely watch training videos as part of your job, you need a good set of earbuds that won’t break every week. Your kids may also want to borrow them at times to listen to tunes or watch a movie on a tablet, so pick up an extra durable pair. Price N Fees offers a top-10 list of the most durable earbuds on the market, including the Monster iSport Victory in-ear headphones, which received high marks for their ruggedness and washability.
So, if your precious sweetie spills apple juice on your earbuds, they should come through with flying colors. For you, the earbuds feature a comfy earhook and tight seal that will prevent them from slipping out your ears during the most tedious training session.
Rugged Laptop
Kids love laptops, plain and simple. While you have every right to make yours off limits to your kiddos, there might be times you acquiesce and let them watch a movie or play a game on your laptop. Tough Rugged Laptops is a great source of work and kid-friendly laptops that can withstand all your kiddos can dish out. The moisture- and dust-resistant Panasonic Toughbook CF-74, which runs about $349, lives up to its name, as the hard drive remains safe inside a shock-resistant closure. For you, the laptop has an Intel Core duo processor, 1 gigabyte of RAM, an 80-gigabyte hard drive and 13.3-inch display.