Now more than ever parents who own businesses and work from home are having a tough time getting work done. With no steady paycheck, benefits, or PTO from an employer - the stress of making a living is immense. Whether you’re a significant other or a grandparent, a best friend or just a beloved neighbor, know that there are a variety of easy ways you can help them out. So if you have a loved one who is a parentpreneur - here are a few things you can do to show your support for them.

Assist With The Children

Keeping young children out of 9-5 daycare is a top reason why a lot of parentpreneurs work from home. The flexibility of being able to work when needed and tend to the children is very attractive, but it doesn’t always make for the most optimal environment for either undertaking. This often leaves your parentpreneur feeling as though they’re spread too thin or they’ve not fully dedicated themselves to either endeavor, resulting in a boat-load of frustration and guilt. If you have time and space, offer to take the kiddos for a day so they can be productive or have calls without the noise. If you are a parentpreneur yourself, team up with another to split days - you take all the kids in the morning, they take all the kids in the afternoon. That way you both get focused work time and your children get time to socialize with new playmates - win-win.

You might think that once your parentpreneur’s kids are in school all their childcare issues are resolved. But a huge time commitment for all caregivers, parentpreneur or not, is time spent in the car driving kids to activities. According to Parents magazine, “nearly 40 percent of 1,000-plus parents surveyed spend more than 5 hours a week driving their kids around, and a third spend more than 10 hours,” 42 percent of those that spend 10 hours in the car say that they “felt they have put their job at risk in order to meet their child’s transportation needs.” So if you’re up for playing taxi, offering to drive their kids to a camp, music lessons, or any other after school activity can potentially free up a mammoth amount of time for a parentpreneur.

Assist With Household Duties

Sometimes helping with the mundane day to day tasks is just what your parentpreneur needs most, and it may only need to be a small gesture to make a big impact on the quality of their home life. Something as simple as making an extra meal, when making dinner or meal prepping, to freeze and take over to them can make a world of difference. Offer to come over and fold laundry for them, we all know there is never any shortage of laundry to fold! Or even just taking the dogs for a walk. In the thick of it all, dog walks fall to the bottom of the priority list, but for many is a daily necessity to burn off some energy, so it would be a relief to know Rover got out and about that day. Any little bit of time a parentpreneur can get to be hyper-focused on the job at hand with no distractions is going to be hugely beneficial and much appreciated.

Assist with Emotional Support

Sometimes the easiest way to support your parentpreneur is to be a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on. It can be tough working on your own all day. Not having another adult to chat with throughout the work day or to bounce ideas off of seems like it wouldn’t be a big deal, but it can be very isolating. A phone call, text or video chat to check in can make all the difference when your loved one is struggling. Think of how often you interact with others in an in-person team environment, quick discussions here and there, hellos and niceties in the hallway. Parentpreneurs that work from home don’t get any of that comradery, so give them a chance to share their day, work through problems, or just vent. Often that simple act can clear their head and nourish their soul allowing them to refocus and refresh for the next task ahead.

The old adage “it takes a village” really is true. If you have a parentpreneur in your life and you see them struggling to keep their head above water, offer to help out in one of these ways. It may seem small and insignificant to you, but it will mean the world to them.