How to Survive an In-House Lock Down with Babies and Toddlers
Wow! COVID-19 has really taken the world by storm. Our hearts go out to all of those who are directly and indirectly affected. The indirect-but-feels-direct effects many of us are experiencing result from the unexpected and immediate thrust into full-time, housebound life.
Parents are really taking a hit right now as they adapt to the mandatory, in-house lock downs with their babies, toddlers, and school-aged children. I’ve put together this list of ideas and tips to help you and your family weather this storm with health, courage, grace, and a whole lot of love and fun.
Feeling Stressed? Try to Change Your Perspective
There is no doubt that families around the Bay Area and the world-at-large are experiencing tremendous stress and anxiety right now. For some, the infection of someone you love may have you worried. The inability to visit loved ones in hospitals, acute care and nursing home settings is troubling. Then there are the financial and work-based stresses that come along with the lock down mandates.
And, if you’re not careful, your stress, worry, and concern spills over onto your children. Now is a perfect time to model stress-management, realistic responses to information, and how life’s lemons can almost always be made into lemonade. This Article on zerotothree.org does an excellent job of explaining how parental stress affects babies and young children, and how connecting, engaging, and being present in the moment can exponentially remedy that.
Not sure how to explain COVID-19 or the mandatory quarantining to young children? Click Here for common sense suggestions from kidshealth.org.
Fun Ideas for Screen-Free Home Time
While screens may seem like the easiest solution to keep children busy and engaged, those hours of quiet should actually be alarming. Babies, toddlers and young children are perpetually, physically active. They learn and develop best when they have face-to-face, emotionally connected, hands-on learning opportunities. Multiple studies prove that minimal to no screen time is best for babies and toddlers.
With that in mind, I offer you multiple ideas for keeping children engaged in activities that keep their eyes away from screens while remaining fully engaged in the daily household rhythm. Then, screen time can be responsibly built into their day via learning games, story times, or family movie afternoons! Once the kids are in bed, here’s a movie list for you and your partner to peruse.
This time is also a great opportunity to sit with your kids and take out those old photo albums. Your kids will love to see how you looked when you were their age, your wedding memories, grandma and grandpa when they were young… I personally remember doing this with my parents and I loved those afternoons!
Create a daily schedule
Creating a daily schedule is a good way for everyone to stay on task. The schedule should integrate all of the things that need to get done on a daily basis (beds made, floors picked up after activities, meal prep, clean up after meals etc.)
This extended time together also offers more windows to patiently teach young children age-appropriate chores, as well as all kinds of opportunities to learn, have fun, be creative and productive, etc. Thanks to @chrissyteigen for her inspiration.
Quick-Tips on Teaching Chores
Children require repetition (and understanding from their parents that final products/fruits-of-their labor are rarely as “perfect” as adults’…). To that end, use a three-step approach to teaching chores. First and foremost, chores should be age-appropriate with reasonable expectations:
You’re the captain. To start out, you’re the chore captain, patiently explaining a task and demonstrating how it’s done sequentially. Some children are quick learners, others may require you to be a Chore Captain one or two more times to observe and get comfortable with the routine.
They’re the assistant. Once they understand the steps, they act as the assistant, doing the chores while you supervise. Be supportive of what they do correctly and try to avoid unnecessary focus on “perfect outcomes.”
They’re the captain. Finally, they perform the task while you assist as needed, showing they’re capable of doing it on their own.
The more patient and positive you are, the more competent and eager to demonstrate their capability the young ones will be. If you’re too critical or set the bar too high, kids automatically demotivate and are much less likely to cooperate with chores as they get older.
Learning Time
If you have older children, their schedules will be modified to accommodate distance learning instructions from their school/teachers. Review the bigs’ schedules and see if there are ways you can use the same subjects/topics and find fun ways to learn about them with your littles. This makes for better mealtime conversations and connected engagement.
PBS Kids and similar apps have all kinds of shows and learning-based resources to share, so take advantage of those as well.
Physical activity and play
Missing your daily or weekly yoga/exercise class? Take advantage of YouTube’s wealth of exercise classes - many of which are designed to do with your baby or young child(ren). Don’t forget about dance parties, which are a fun way to get a whole lot of exercise without even realizing it.
Get outside
While you do need to observe mandates about public gathering places, there’s no reason you can’t get outside to take walks, play in the grass, stroll around the block with the dog, etc. Just maintain that recommended 6-foot distance from others, and enjoy calling out hellos and catching up with neighbors you may not have connected with in a while.
Dust off the board games (or make your own)
Cards, dice, board games - kids LOVE them. And, once you dust off the old boxes, you’ll remember how much you used to love them as well. Don’t have any? Or, don’t have games on hand that suit the younger crowd? Here are some old-fashioned games that modern kids love.
Get artsy and crafty
Another activity children love to do? Arts and crafts, of course. And, you’ll probably find that focusing your mind on creative endeavors helps to settle your raw and frazzled nerves as well. Visit whatwedoallday.com’s post on 12 Retro Crafts for Kids...the large majority of which utilize things you already have in the home.
Cook together
Hey! Now you have all the time in the world to slow down a bit and prepare meals together as a family, or in various combinations. From removing lettuce leaves from the head and spinning them in the salad spinner to full-on chopping, reviewing measurements for math via cookbook recipes, and cooking on the stove, there are things almost every toddler and young child can do to help with meals. Or, take them with you in the car as you support local restaurants by taking advantage of the curbside pickups and takeout options.
Create a long-term activity
Is there a longer-term chore or task (maybe even a craft or art project) that you’ve been meaning to take on? How about a complicated puzzle? This can be a great time to model that some goals in life require little-by-little action that adds up to a completed project or job well done. Play some music in the background while you gather as a family and it will create long-lasting memories. Later on, when they listen to those songs, they’ll remember this very special time together.
Just think, there’s never been a better time to take advantage of all hands on deck for some serious (or fun!) spring cleaning - just make it into a one-task-a-day game! Here are 8 Ways to Make Cleaning More Fun...
Create a DIY photo session experience
If you have a newborn at home, you’ll want to take advantage of all the preciousness of their tiny, brand new essence. If this lock down has meant having to cancel your newborn or maternity photo session, read my post, DIY Baby Photography Tips for Pro-Quality Pics at Home. That way, you know you’ll have some high-quality images to celebrate this one-of-a-kind moment in time.
If you’re wee one is still “wee” when this lock down is over, or you’re currently pregnant, give me a call here at Lemonshoots, (510) 747-9019, and we’ll get you on the future books for your maternity or newborn photo session. Positive thinking and collaborative efforts will help all of us weather this lock down and emerge the healthier for it!
