My husband, 3 kids and I are trying to live in our home while some really extensive remodeling is being done. It has become almost impossible to keep the kids(ages 4-8) out of the way of the workers. I can tell they are irritated and I just don't know what to do. I don't know if you answer these kind of questions; but I saw your website and thought I would give it a try.
In most cases I find that after a few days the novelty wears off and then the kids get back to playing and watching TV as they normally do. However, some kids do want to be around the workers all the time. As you know, this not only slows the work down because the workers are giving the kids some attention, but it really does create a safety issue for both the kids and the workers.
Here are a few suggestions that have worked on some of the jobs I have had over the years. First you might want to try and tell the kids that they will have a special time once in a while when they will be able to watch the workers. I would always try to set these times up when I knew the workers would either be on a break or having lunch or at least when the work they were doing was not of the dangerous nature. However, this is really not the best choice.
Another thing you can try is make another area of the house more playful for the kids during this time. One of the things I recommend is giving them some toy tools, work benches etc., to make them feel like they are a part of the action as well. They can have some of the scrap wood to pound on which always seems to make them happy. There is a great site that you can take a look at that has safe toys for kids with some small wooden toy structers that they can build. Just click on the following link to take a look. Make sure you scroll down to the botton of the page. Safe Wooden Toys.
If all else fails, when you know that you are going to be starting a project, line up activities away from the house such as visiting relative and friends, taking them to special places like the zoo or a playground. You just have to figure that having workers in the home does cause a disruption for everyone in the family and although kids might not understand what is going on, you can try to make this time a special time for them, and that may ease the stress level a bit.
Remember that the more time the workers spend dealing with the kids, the longer the project will take and the more money you will spend.
I hope this helps. Rick
Rick Maselli
Founder and Editor of Showroom411.com