And yet, there are many positive inspirations that we can take from this exceptional experience. Here are my 5 key takeaways and tips for you based on our learnings as a family having experienced various forms of quarantine and lockdowns in Ethiopia, France and Vietnam over the last 18 months.
Wherever you are around the world – in lockdown or not – I hope you might find those tips useful for a more balanced and creative family life.
1. Create moments of positive quality time together
In stressful times, the most important coping strategy is to recharge our energy. There are obviously many ways to do that. A very effective way to keep and release positive energy for all family members is to spend quality time together. It can be challenging to find the time and as parents we might rather try and juggle work and children at the same time. But our children need this time with us. It will be much easier for them to accept that mommy and daddy also need some time for work when their need to get attention and to spend time with us is satisfied.
By quality time, I mean time of undivided attention without screens, during which everyone is engaged in a joint activity. Try identifying a fixed time each day to do something nice together. This could be playing a game, building with blocks, drawing something, cooking, doing sports, reading a book, and much more.
Here are some ideas that you might want to try out. They are easy to do and do not require any fancy materials.
2. Boredom leads to more creativity
When staying for a long time at home without much distraction boredom is unavoidable. You probably all know those moments, when your children are asking you every five minutes ´What could I do?` and often then they want to do things that are not available and get frustrated. As parents we often have a tendency to find a quick answer and to suggest a game or an activity. However, research has shown that boredom is very healthy and can spark creativity. It actually allows the mind to wander around and pick-up new ideas. Children will start looking for new things to do, which often leads to very creative play and variations of old toys and materials. So, don´t worry if your children are bored. Sit back and give them the time to come up with new ideas.
Here are some open-ended creative activities that you could try out:
3. A healthy routine
Children love predictability. Especially in times with lots of insecurity, it is important as a family to have a clear and healthy routine. It will allow children to know what is next and to anticipate their favorite moments of the day. Even during school break, a basic routine of similar sleeping, eating and play time is important for a child. When staying for extended periods of time at home, you might find it helpful to agree on a specific time for a joint sports activity, for cooking and enjoying special meals, for playing together, and also for some time for yourself. It is important that we also communicate to our children that we as parents need some time-off. This can be 10min to take a quiet shower, to listen to a podcast or to meditate. Try enjoying very consciously whatever short break to reenergize yourself. If you are calm and positive, your children will be relaxed, too.
4. Switch off the screens and start a fun family project
Working from home means a lot of screens for many of us. Switch off the screens when you spend time with your children. They are magically attracted to screens and will struggle to focus on anything else. Behavior issues tend to increase with extended periods of time children spend on electronical devices – and this is definitely not what you want. Even babies and small toddlers will already feel whether you give them undivided attention or whether you are distracted by a mobile device. Instead, think about which kind of project you could engage in all together. Self-efficiency, the feeling of having accomplished something, is actually a very helpful coping strategy in difficult times. Here are some ideas:
- Do an arts project together using remaining colors or recycled materials you have
- Redesign and decorate the play area
- Jot down on a map where you have already been and add pictures or drawings of everyone’s dearest memories of those places
- Plan, prepare and do a trip in your home, including picnicking
Try brainstorming as a family and explore the interests of your children to come up with ideas.
5. Share responsibility for basic chores
Staying at home as a family also means lots of meals to cook, hundreds of times setting the table and a lot of tidying up and cleaning. The good news is that especially small children up to 4 years old love helping with chores; older children might need some incentives. Try involving children from early on in basic chores. It will give them a sense of responsibility and increase practical life skills. And it makes your life easier – your children are meaningfully occupied as you do some chores and you are not the only one anymore being responsible for everything.
For younger children, here are some ideas how to involve children in practical chores.
For older children you might want to discuss over a family meal about chores that have to be done and who would be able to take responsibility for which ones. It will work best if your children chose the chore. Agree to check in regularly to see how it works and be ready to adjust as needed.
If you are interested in more tips how to bring playful and creative learning into your home, feel invited to grab my FREE MiniCourse for parents.
You might also want to have a look at the free Resource Library with tons of easy to do Playful Learning Activities for Toddlers and Pre-schoolers sent straight to your phone.