Keep Your Kids Engaged During The COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown

Kids are of course adorable and delightful but let’s face it, having them home all day, 7 days in a week is definitely not delightful. They will literally drive you nuts, well, unless they have already. And that’s why you need to keep the kids engaged in the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down. 

So, the big question is, what should you do about it? The last thing you want is to lash out at them. Think about it, the kids are pretty much stressed out by this new development, and so are you.

They’ve never had to experience anything like this and we have no idea how long this is going to last. Hopefully soon, because I’m already missing a few kids. 

Back to what you are going to do about it! It is quite simple and I personally think it is the first thing that any parent should do right now.

CREATE A SCHEDULE

The kids need a schedule, some sort of routine to guide them and to help you, as well. 

Schedule should be flexible enough to allow enough time gaps in between activities. The child doesn’t have to start another activity the moment he or she is done with one. A break should follow after every activity. Make it flexible, simple and of course, your child’s inputs should be considered.

Trust me, if you are working from home, then you definitely need one for your children. Well, except you don’t mind being interrupted every 5 to 10 minutes while WORKING.

COVID-19 hasn’t just disrupted your life, it has disrupted your kids’ lives as well and that’s why the schedule is so super important. 

What should the schedule look like? It should look like what your kid will be interested in. However, a standard daily schedule should start right from the moment the kid wakes up and end when the kid goes right back to bed. Remember, an effective schedule is one that can keep your kids engaged while their stay-at-home days linger.

If your kids’ interests are too far apart, you’ll have to draw up a custom schedule for each kid. If you can’t do that, you can reach out to us and we’ll help you create the perfect daily schedule for your child.

What should the daily schedule feature?

1. Morning rituals – making the bed, brushing their teeth, taking a bath, breakfast and any other thing they usually do in the morning before school.
2. School time – Yay! A mini school, this shouldn’t take up the whole day, your kids will get bored and become inattentive. How long should this last? Say 2 hours to 3 hours.
3. Lunch time – Kids get hungry and you will have to fix up lunch for them. Something light, we don’t want to weigh them down, do we?
4. Game time – there’s hardly a kid who doesn’t love games. Find the games their heart beats for and let them play. If it is a game, you can join in, then by all means do. Just don’t ruin the fun for them.
5. Play time – let’s tag this as their alone time. Let them do what they want but within your rules of course.
6. Screen time – Let them watch TV please. Your kids will hate a schedule that leaves out TV so, please don’t leave it out. Feature it in, could be a cartoon (like Mulan, Sofia the first, and that crazy new cartoon they like – oh, PJ mask)
7. Music rehearsals – If your kids play a musical instrument, then you might want to include that instrument in his/her daily schedule.
8. Sports and exercise – Whatsoever it be, I am sure you can squeeze it in somewhere. If you can afford to do this every day, then cool. If you can’t, then do it as much as you can.
9. Hands time – I couldn’t help myself; your kids should be washing their hands as often as they can and of course, in the right way. To make sure they don’t rush over this activity, you can make them sing you the “happy birthday song” from start to finish, slowly.
10. Anything your kid does in a typical day. You could even throw in some baking or drawing time. Anything that your kid loves. It’s about the child.

There you have it, the fast track way to keep your kids engaged. And while we want to keep them engaged, do not forget that this is an opportunity to draw closer to your kids. Have some family time, have fun with your kids and make some pretty good memories.

Oh, lest I forget, we can help you create schedules for your child just in case you have no idea how to create an effective schedule.

Stay safe.