Okay - I am really late to jump in on this but this is a topic I am so familiar with. You see, I am not only a WAHM but I was also raised in a family that has a home based bussiness. I worked at home (for the family business and freelance work before I had my son.
Yes, certain tasks you can do around there scheduale but there are others that need to be done on a different schedule (deadlines, the phone ringing, etc). For insance, when i was little, mom did the bookkeeping and general office stuff while we napping or in bed, later when we were doing our homework - unless it was something that needed to be done immediately - like typing an estimate. When i was able, i helped her with many of the office stuff (she ended up taking a job working outside the home when i was 7 or
.
but children quickly understand "work" and the need for the parent to do it. As far back as i remember, i always knew that if the phone rang, it meant be quite since it might be a customer caling. When Dad couldn't do something with me or attend a school function becuase he had an job that needed done, i understood. Note: while other than for the first year, we run the business from the home - most of his work is done on the customers site; he does try to schedual jobs during normal businness hours but problems, emergancy can have him going out at night.
I have their business line ran into my home now and my son understands the idea of that if that phone rings - quiet. he is also very understanding of me needing time to work on whatever projects i need to do. Yes, i try to do things when he is busy but deadlines happen and sometimes i just need to do it now. He also understands that when he is over at the grandparents.
I guess my point is this: the kids understand and except that you can't always work around their scheduale. And if you involve them in some aspect of what you do (or at the very least expalin to them), it's even better.