If you are a parent, and you work at home, one of your biggest concerns may be childcare. Just because you have tasks to perform does not mean that your child will stop crying, or your toddler will stop wandering into your office. The fact is that young children do no know that they are not to scribble on your monitor with your highlighter, or pound your keyboard with their toy hammer.

Keep in mind that the whole reason why you decided to work at home was to make your life less stressful. You were most likely envisioning the elimination of commutes, flexible hours, and lunch with the kids everyday.

Well, I have some positive news for you. As an entrepreneur, you have options when it comes to childcare. We will discuss these options below.

1. Create a Co-Op For Childcare: If you can organize such a co-op, your daycare problems are most likely solved. With such a childcare co-op, different groups of work at home parents are assigned a specific day to watch all of the kids of the members of the co-op. Thus, if you are assigned Tuesdays, you will need to set every Tuesday aside to strictly provide daycare. The great thing about such an arrangement is that it only costs a weekday, and not money. The disadvantage is that you have to give up a weekday to take care of other people's kids.

2. Parent Switching: Such an arrangement is similar to a co-op, but done on a much smaller scale, usually between two families. Basically, you a friend come to an agreement which you will watch the kids on certain days, and they will watch the kids on other days. The only thing that I would advise is that you set clear limits from the start. You have to come to an agreement that such an arrangement is for business purposes only. You are not becoming one another's personal babysitter. Moreover, you have to make sure that all of the children can co-exist under the same roof without things getting out of hand. If this is not possible, then such an arrangement probably will not work for you.

3. Get The Most Our Of The Babysitter: What you can also do, is come to an agreement between yourself, a friend, and a babysitter. Such agreement can state that the baby sitter will watch both groups of children for a specified amount per hour or per day. Thereafter, the cost of the babysitter can be split among the two parties. Otherwise, you can agree that one family will utilize the babysitter's services on one day, and the other will do so on other days. Just make sure that everything is clearly stipulated up front in writing. This will avoid misunderstandings.

4. Swapping: You can swap products or services with a friend or someone in your neighborhood in exchange for their childcare services. Such an arrangement will keep you from having to pay out of pocket.

5. Daycare: Keep in mind that although you work at home, your business is your means. Therefore, you have to treat your situation with as much respect as you would a nine to five job. You will find that the right daycare center will be a rewarding experience for both child and parent. Which day care is best is entirely up to you and beyond the scope of this article. Costs vary from center to center. However, you will find that the return on investment will be worth it because of your greater focus and productivity.

Finding childcare options which do not cost money really comes down to your ability to network with others. You have to make people who you know and trust that you are looking for a setup similar to one outlined above. Making this happen should be viewed as a business move. You are trying to close a deal which will vastly benefit your business. If you work at home and have small children, do your best to find a cost effective childcare arrangement which will allow you to concentrate 100% on your business.