What I am doing to keep my kids in a good brain space in the time of COVID-19 | Seattle Family Photographer
So how are you holding with the stay at home orders up mama?
Whew boy, these are not normal times for any of us. It’s not easy is it? No matter where you are, most of us have been ordered to stay at home. To all of a sudden have to stay at home, homeschool your kids and have your family routines completely upended is not easy. Some of us are caring for elderly parents, or are on the front lines in healthcare, in the grocery stores, or delivering packages. So first I want to say, you are doing a GREAT job. However you are choosing to manage your kids, your household, your work & the news reports, you are doing the best you can, and that is enough.
3 things I am doing at my house to keep my kids (and myself) happy and sane.
One thing I have learned so far is that my kids are pretty resilient. They have transitioned fairly well into being at home but they really do miss school and their friends and their sports. My kids are tweens so in some regards they are more self sufficient than younger kids, and in other regards, they still need a lot of my time and attention. And let’s face, 5th grade math is harder than I thought it would be!
Here are my top tips for keeping my kiddos in a good brain space
Set up some sort of routine. Whatever that looks like for your family, do it. Most kids thrive on routine and predictability. Even a super simple schedule will keep everyones’ expectations in check. And give you some piece of mind knowing that everyone is on the same page. I have found my kids have naturally fallen into a schedule, they want to know what they are doing each day so we are doing some scheduled things and some choice activities.
Engaged brains make happier kids. This time is kind of boring, there is a lot of time to fill. We are sprinkling in academics with lots of other learning opportunities. We do all of our heavy academic activities in the morning as that is when my kids are the most awake and ready to learn. Then for the rest of the day, I made a sheet with loads of things to do to choose from. Things like legos, baking, drawing, virtual museum tours, reading, screen time and organizing ( I have one child that LOVES to organize things and who am I to deprive her of that?). I am so impressed with the amount of resources being made available to kids for free during this time. In a separate post, I will compile some of the cool things I have found.
Exercise. Nothing resets my kids or mood quicker than simply stepping outside. It’s like a magical cure to all that ails you. We have a large, yet small yard - large because there is a lot of area, small because most of it is landscaping and not ideal for playing in. But my kids have totally worked around all that. They practice soccer, play hide and seek, tether ball and make up funny games with stuff they find in the garage. (garage floor pool with tennis balls for example) Mine are at the age that they can ride their bikes around the block on their own which is a nice exercise in independence. Everyday we are taking a walk, rain or shine. Luckily we are moving into more shine than rain in Seattle these days. But for us, getting outside is truly the magic formula for changing attitudes and wiping away the brain cobwebs!
Talking, lots of talking. Our kids are old enough that they are hungry for information. We are talking to them about what is going on in the world and trying to help them feel better by understanding what all of this is about. There are so many great kids news resources out there. Time magazine just made free kids versions of its magazine available as did The Economist. There are versions that are age appropriate for a variety of kids. We are also talking to them about how they are feeling. There has been some anxiety over all of this and we try to talk to them to validate these feelings and telling them that we are feeling the same way. This is a weird new experience for all of us, so we are all learning how to act together.
I hope you are all doing ok out there. It makes things a little more challenging having children during this time, as it requires we wear more mama hats than normal, but despite it being tough at times, we are all in this together, truly more so than anything we have ever experienced! Staying home is how we can do our part to support all the health care workers and their support staff, and the people on the front lines helping keeping our cities and towns running. The grocers, the garbage collectors, the restaurants, and all the amazing people putting themselves out there so we can stay home. So a giant thanks to them and to you for doing your part!