Coronavirus ourbreak forces south-west workers into their homes

The dream of sleeping in and eating breakfast in bed is not the reality of working from home, rather parents are juggling entertaining their children while answering phones and preparing meals.

Amy Dixon is a legal assistant in the conveyancing department at Maddens Lawyers and has been working from home for the past week.

"So far, so good," she said.

"We've been told we can FaceTime people and I've been doing lots of talking on the phone and lots of emails. I've told everyone I'm contactable by emails and I feel as though things haven't changed a whole lot really.

"Normally I work weekdays 9am to 3pm and 3pm always comes so quickly when I pick up the kids, but now I don't have to. I can even do work in evenings which I normally wouldn't have done.

"Moving forward, I just have to take it one day at a time."

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Last week, Mrs Dixon was enjoying her makeshift office complete with the family's outdoor table as a desk in their kitchen and living area.

Now, eight-year-old Isaac and 10-year-old Isla are managing school holidays from home.

"It's only been one day with the kids finishing up school," Mrs Dixon said.

"Last week was a breeze and I'll be honest, it's already proving challenging with the kids.

"It can be quite overwhelming with all the noise and keeping them entertained. But I'm lucky that they are eight and 10 and can fend for themselves and they know when mummy needs to work."

Mrs Dixon has a few ideas to keep her children busy throughout the school holidays.

"I know there will be a lot of Nintendo, Netflix and Disney+ but as long as they go outside for a while I feel better," she said.

"We have heaps of board games and puzzles. The kids are already playing Guess Who.

"I've been saving lots of things my friends have tagged me on Facebook so there's lots of fun things we can do.

"I'm trying to keep routine and make sure they don't spend six hours on iPad; that will be the challenge, keeping on top their time and getting my work done."

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In terms of her own routine, Mrs Dixon is keeping a positive mindset and making sure she spends plenty of time with her family, especially when her husband comes home from his work.

"I have Google Home so I tell it to play music," she said.

"I also have two little sausage dogs which come and visit. I make sure I get up and walk around and have some snacks - but not too many as I don't want to go to the supermarket.

"I'm feeling more positive. When it all came out that the office was closing, I couldn't help but go on social media and I easily got overwhelmed.

"I think having kids at home has made me snap it out as I don't want to scare them. Having them here will be better for me and I can enjoy time at home with them."

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