Working from home is such a delight. No need to deal with annoying office gossip, corporate dress codes, or worrying about anyone stealing your delicious leftovers from the employee fridge.

But working from home with a child in the house?

This is the equivalent of having all of your lunches stolen, having all of your coworkers giving you mixed performance reviews, and sighing with dismay as you try to squeeze into your corporate attire to see if you’ve still got it.

In short, it’s harder than it looks.

My favorite part of discussing my career is when friends or family members (who have clearly never worked from home with a child) comment on how easy I must have it. 

The truth is, working from home with a child in the house still has all the perks I mentioned earlier, but it's about as easy as playing darts with spaghetti.

I made the choice to build my business and begin working from home when my daughter was just on the verge of turning one. It was admittedly much easier back then. She wasn’t walking, didn’t talk much, and didn’t freak out if I took a phone call or left the room for 15 seconds.

Then she became a toddler.

Thankfully, she attends a really awesome school for half of the work day, so I can rely on my proverbial village for help in the afternoon hours. But there are always those days where the babysitter cancels, or the babe is home sick with a cold.

You’ve got to laugh, really, as these are problems that won’t seem so major in the long run, but in the meantime, here are 7 things only work from home parents understand:

1. There is no lunch break.

If you take any break at all in your day, it’s likely happening just to ensure your child is fed. If you’re lucky, you can pee before the end of day. 

2. You’re still in your pajamas by 5pm.

Again, if you've gotten anyone dressed today, it likely wasn’t you. And if you did, it’s probably only from the waist up, to take a Skype call or something.

3. Cold coffee is better than no coffee.

I make my coffee at 7am, just in time to get a few sips in before my daughter begins calling for me from her crib. I heat it up again after I take care of her morning needs. And then again at some later point in the morning. I then have to hide it because she wants to slap it out of my hands. While she’s napping, I recover my hidden coffee and attempt to heat it up but realize the microwave might wake her up. Ah, forget it, I’ll just drink it cold.

4. The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song can double as hold music.

What’s that noise you hear in the background? Minnie is having a party at her Bowtique. I mean, it’s my hold music.

5. Your neighbors think you’re the crazy lady who lives in her pajamas and only comes outside to check the mail because let’s face it, you are.

6. Doing laundry, folding it, or scrubbing your toilets suddenly seems like the best distraction ever.

Got a bad case of writer’s block? Fold some laundry. Scrape the fruit snacks off the floor. Scrub the marker off the couch. Deadline, shmeadline.

7. You secretly love being a part of each moment of your child’s life, even if working from home with a child is the most stressful thing you’ve ever taken part in. Enough said.

Full-time jobs AND happy children? We’re some pretty lucky mamas.

A writer, entrepreneur, radio host, and powerful motivational speaker – Michelle Dempsey, owner and founder of Michelle Dempsey, Very Well-Written, has one goal in mind: empowering women from all walks of life with her incredible personal life story of overcoming adversity and using the lessons learned to achieve success. Internationally published and known for her ability to connect with readers on a deeper level, Michelle has successfully united her passion for business and writing and developed a thriving career, offering writing and editing services, business coaching, branding expertise, and content marketing to business of all kinds.