Stay sane during a lockdown situation as a family- is this even possible?
We have come to the point in our bizarre world where we face a social distancing and self-isolation situation. This means we are not supposed to get out of our houses unless absolutely necessary. This also means we are not to let anyone visit our houses.
And I can bet quite a few of us will think: Hey, we have some extra time off to just catch up on some long overdue sleep/ tidying/ gardening etc, etc. As much as this is a chance to do all this as well, I can also bet you one thing:
We will get dead bored of this compulsory prolonged time off!
How long can you last being at home without going to see a friend, or having someone over, or going out for a meal?
2 weeks?
4 weeks?
That’s probably it!
We, humans, are very sociable creatures and when we don’t get to socialise, it causes anxieties, worries or even depression.
Also, you will be worried about your job, finances, food supply and your relatives that might be more vulnerable. I have recently seen this great video that would at least answer one of these worries- How to manage your finances during financial crisis 2020 by Ken at The Humble Penny. Check it out here!
Furthermore, if you have a child, two or more, you will really be fed up of being stuck at home after about 2, 3 days! Remember, you cannot ask your relatives to look after them so you can “pop out” for a much needed “me time”…
Your kids will too get very bored and even sooner than you, will get affected by the lack of socialising and boredom!
What we have to do now is to get prepared for this very challenging time that we are to face in the next few months to come.
In my household, there are 3 young kids (11, 5, and 3), my husband and me. We have come up with the plan on how we are going to ensure our household stays sane in a lockdown situation as a family. I would highly recommend you also prepare such plan and tailor it to your own family needs.
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How to stay sane during a lockdown situation as a family:
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Keep the daily routine going
It is absolutely crucial and backed up by studies that kids thrive in predictable and organised routines. They need structure to their day which is as similar as possible to the one they would have on a normal school day. Discipline is key to this.
Monday to Friday treat as “study days” and Saturday and Sunday as “days off school”.
What this means?:
- Wake your kids up early and put them to sleep at the usual times
- Keep meals at similar times of a day with two healthy snacks between meals
- Get them dressed in the morning so that they don’t walk around the house in their PJ’s all day long
- Get them to do some education during the early hours of the day. The kids should have been provided with some work to go through during the home study time, so get this done in the morning. Let them take regular short breaks in between so they don’t get overwhelmed. Help them if possible with their reading or maths
- Keep the screen time to a minimum
- The afternoons/ evenings keep for the entertainment part (read point 4 below)
- On the weekend keep the usual routine but bear in mind that you will need to entertain them with home activities so that they don’t get bored and just stare at the TV all day as they are not able to go to their weekend clubs/lessons.
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Keep socialising
I know! We are to avoid social contact unless absolutely necessary!
I am talking about the non-physical socialising!
With smartphones and technology allowing access to the world from the comfort of our homes, you can keep in touch with everyone.
Allow your kids (depending on their age) to video/call their friends or relatives once a day for 10-20 minutes so that they don’t feel completely detached from the world.
Ask them to choose one person a day out of the friends’ list and one person from the family list and allow them to video call via WhatsApp, Messenger, Facetime, Zoom or Skype.
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Keep fit
Being stuck at home does not mean you should skip regular exercises. As much as this will prove more difficult to go out to the gym/ or to even go out to the park (especially if the weather is not nice). Also, kids will lose the PE time that they have at school so it is important that you keep yourself and them fit.
How can you keep fit at home? I have already covered this in my comprehensive guide on home exercise for beginners.
How can you get your kids to keep fit? There are a few things to consider first:
- Are your kids generally fit and well to be exercising at home? If they are allowed to attend the PE lessons, the answer would be Yes. If however for any reasons they cannot be physically active, follow the recommendations of your Health Advisor.
- Do you have a sufficient amount of “free space” for the exercises? If you live in a small flat or the living space is limited, consider reorganising the furniture for time being to free up some space.
- How often should they exercise? Kids need a lot more of physical activities than adults. NHS has a precise guide and as per their recommendation kids age 1-5 should stay active for about 180 minutes a day! That seems a lot but remember that every activity matters so whenever they are running around the house, “wrestling” with each other, dance or just jump on the settee it all adds up. They are usually much more active so it’s not so hard to add up to the 3hrs of the recommended time. For kids age 5-18 this is only 60 minutes a day. How would you know how long they stay active for? When they are at home all day, just take notice of the time they do get active and track the time so you will know how long they do “subconsciously exercise”.
- What are they allowed to do in terms of exercising? Anything that does not require “muscle strengthening equipment”. By this, I mean any weights or any equipment that’s purpose is to build muscles. Whilst it’s ok for the kids to build strong muscles and bones by the means of regular exercises we should be careful of the fact that kids do not know how to do it properly. Needless to say that many adults do not know how to lift weights properly hence end up injuring themselves. You must have seen some funny videos of epic gym mistakes where people use gym equipment “improperly” 🙂
So really you can do any type of exercising at home and here are some ideas on what can be done in a small space of your home:
- Running up and down the steps (start with 10 runs/walks x 3 with a one minute break in between and slowly build it up)
- Jumping around (you can get them to jump up on one leg first, then other legs, and finally both legs together) like frog jumps
- Dancing (play some music on the TV or Youtube or radio and dance around with them) You can also play musical statues.
- Skipping (if you have skipping rope)
- Play hide and seek
- Let them follow some Youtube video that is suitable for your kids’ age and why not join in to encourage them to stick to it and also ensure they do it properly!
- If you do have a garden- there are a lot more possibilities with the outdoor playing like running around the garden, throwing a ball, riding a bike etc.
- The beep test is the ideal type of exercise if your garden is long enough (20 meters ideally) Here you can find some more info
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Keep them entertained/busy
There will be a lot of time that the kids will have not much to do, so they will most likely sit on the sofa watching telly/tablet/play video games!
As much as we will have to allow a little more time for this (especially if you are working from home during this period) we need to ensure the kids get some entertainment to avoid excessive screen time.
But what can we do to keep them off the screens?
Here are some ideas for what can you do with your kids or ask them to do to keep them entertained/ busy:
- Read books together
- Build a lego house
- Do jigsaw puzzle together
- Get in the kitchen and bake a cake/ make a pizza / cook a meal together
- Have an indoor picnic
- Ask your child to write a book review
- Ask your child to draw a map of how to get to school by walk or/ and by car/bus
- Learn origami together and create some amazing animals
- Have a discussion with your family members on what would you do if you have won £1m tomorrow
- Get a map/ globe and select 5 (or more) countries which your family would like to visit (you can further research the things to see in those countries on Google or YouTube
- Play a board game together
- Learn new language over the internet together – keep it very basic as counting to 10 and a few phrases such as: How are you? What is your name? You can aim to learn 2 or even 3 languages this way over the course of the lockdown. You never know- this might come handy one day!
- Get them drawing. Make it into a competition of who draws the most amazing house or a flower
- Roleplay- get two or more of your kids to discuss a role they want to play and get them to organize it an act it out. You can then sit down with the rest of the family and watch their performance
- Set up a home cinema- dim the lights or close the curtains, put some nice movie on TV (there will be some on TV, or plays some of the YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime), get popcorn, fruit snack, a drink and watch a movie together
- Create a time capsule with your child. Get them to put some picture, drawing, a letter to them older selves, and some memorable item that they can open in a few years. You can dig out a hole in the garden and bury it or just put it in the loft or your wardrobe.
- Get them to help you with the house chores- like vacuuming or dusting, or simply helping you organise their toys
- Revise their wardrobe together and put away all the clothes they grew out off. You can do the same with their toys
- Record a fun video together (or just of your kids) and put it on YouTube. You never know- you might have some hidden talent and will turn this into a full-time job one day!
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Eat well/ drink water
The important thing during this challenging time is to eat good food.
This time is a great opportunity to do so, as we do not get a chance to go out to eat or get takeaways so we will end up home cooking all the time. Home-cooked food is almost always healthier (unless you are using a lot of salt, sugar and sauces). At least you know what you are eating and have full control of the ingredients you are using.
Keep up with your fluids too and make sure kids get enough water too. They do tend to forget to drink as they play around.
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Don’t worry about your house being messier
As kids will be at home all the time, the chances are, the house will be messier. Unless they are super disciplined and/ or just very good at organising their playing space, the toys will most likely end up in every corner of the house.
Try to relax about it and if this really bothers you, ensure at the end of every day you get them to out help out cleaning the mess they created.
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Have a much needed “Me time”
As much as I have dedicated this post to family life, it is important to remember “Me time”.
Being locked down in the house with the kids can be very frustrating and you will need a bit of the alone time. Swap with your partner and have an hour of alone time. Go to a separate room and do your nails, read a book or have a nice long bath while listening to some of your favourite music. Apply some facemask and relax!
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Keep your relationship happy.
Staying around each other 24/7 might be a little tough. Especially if one of you have lost their job or will not be getting paid. You too might be having anxieties about providing for the family when income is lower. The key is communication. Talk to each other about the worries you have. Ideally, do it when kids are asleep – as they might feel it’s their fault that mummy or daddy is upset.
Also, try and keep things as normal as possible so still arrange some date night and watch a movie together or have a romantic date. Check out my recent posts about a happy marriage and Valentine’s Day– some things you will be able to apply even being stuck at home.
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Watch less news
It is important to know what is going on around the world and keep informed about the outbreak. However, media is designed to deliver negative news more than the positive ones.
Why?
Because people respond quicker to negative news! We prefer hearing bad things!
Bearing this in mind, you should limit the time you spend watching/hearing the news.
Try to watch only one set of news a day and ideally when kids are not around. They do not react well to uncertainties and bad news. They can watch the BBC Newsround however, which is tailored for the minds of the young viewers.
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Stay positive
Following from my previous point- watching a lot of news where most you hear is how many people have died, how bad is the situation in the world, etc- feeds you with a lot of negativity!
All you have to do is to stay positive. The world is in a crisis, but this is not the end of it! After some time, we will get back to a normal cycle of life. There is no need to worry too much!
If you are generally a negatively thinking person I can refer you to the article by The Guardian which is talking about specifically about the current situation and how to stay positive.
Wrapping up.
Use this opportunity as a bonding time for your family. Yes, you will get into a few quarrels and the kids will drive you insane from time to time, but overall this is a chance to fully embrace in the family life.
We don’t really get to spend much of a quality time together being busy with work, house chores, and other daily activities.
As we now have more time to slow down and take a step back on rushed lifestyles we have this rare opportunity to use it to strengthen the bond that we have.
Relax about your cleaning routines – no one is going to visit you anyway).
Focus on your kids, your partner and yourself.
Let’s not forget about those more vulnerable.
If you have elderly neighbours that are in need and you know they have no one to look after them, call them and ask if they need any help. Try to avoid physical contact with them – but at least drop off some food to the door so they have the essentials to get through this tough time. It is much harder for them being totally alone.
Remember:
Stay positive.
Practice gratitude.
Everything is going to be OK!
The life will go back to normal in a few months and we are going to come out of it stronger (literally- if you keep fit during this time) with more family bond (unless you end up killing each other (sorry, couldn’t help the joke)) than ever!
Let me know in the comments below how are you preparing for this difficult time?
Have you thought of it at all?
How will you stay sane during a lockdown situation?
Stay safe everyone!
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Thank you for reading!
