Many public school systems are closing for a period of time. In our area, schools have closed for 2 weeks. At that time they will further assess if they need to continue the closures or reopen. So what do we do with our kids for THAT LONG???
If you work full time or part time and need child care you may think you are in a real pickle. Look to your friends and neighbors and your child's school friends to see if any of their parents can help you out while you work. Some neighborhoods and communities are organizing a list of people who can take in a child or two or ten during this crisis. Even if your child is old enough to stay home by themselves for short periods of time, you may not want them staying home all day long day in and day out for weeks on end. Look to friends, neighbors, and community. I have seen already in my area a volunteer list for those who can help and matching those in need. Others will be in the same boat as you. Use social media to tell others what you need. Don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask. We are all in this together. We need to come together and help each other out. If we don't know you need help, we don't know to help you. Ask for help.
If you work from home or are able to stay at home with your kids and still wonder what to do with them, I have a few mom tips for you too!
1. Alleviate your child's fears. Many children, my own included, had lots of questions. I answered their questions as best as I could. Mine are in their upper teens now so they can understand much more than an 8 year old who was just told that they wouldn't be going to school and wouldn't be seeing their friends and wouldn't be playing sports or going to dance class or even going to church for a while. When answering their questions try to answer the questions they ask. Some kids just need to know some information. Others may need to know more. They will ask until they are satisfied with the answer. I suggest also that you don't sugar-coat it. Tell them the facts. The facts at this point are that no one really knows a whole lot about this nasty bug. The kids who they know have gotten it, haven't had much more than cold symptoms, but that kids may give the virus to their parents or grandparents and when the virus is in older people they can get much sicker. So by closing schools, the people at school can clean it really well and you and your friends won't give it to each other who might give it to an older person who might get really sick. Let them know that they will go back to school when this is all over and that they will see their friends again and that they will be able to play sports or dance again. But for right now, we are staying home and away from others as much as possible.
2. Create a schedule. Some kids will come home with schoolwork to do. Others may have schoolwork to do online. Some may not have any schoolwork at all. But all kids need a schedule. They need a plan. YOU need a plan. If you are staying home with them, create a schedule that will include time for schoolwork, meals, chore time, free time, perhaps an organized activity (hiking, biking, board games, etc), and a quiet time(I will get to this in a minute). Schedules don't need to be by the minute but kids will do better when they know what the plan is. Plans can change, so be flexible, and schedules can change to better fit your needs. If you have someone else watching them outside of your home, let your kids know of your plans for them. Help your caregiver to create a list of activities that your kids might enjoy. (see next point)
3. Activities. Brainstorm some activities that you think the kids might enjoy. You may even want to get the kids to help you with this list. Write them down. Seriously, trust me on this. Write. It. Down. You will need this list to refer to when your kids 3 days into being at home comes to you and says "I'm bored" for the 50 millionth time. Refer to the list and suggest an activity. Also have a few "surprise" activities up your sleeve for when they are truly wracking your last nerve and you all need to do something or you will end up killing each other. These surprise activities might be something your have never done or something that you rarely do.
Here are a list of activities to get you started:
board games
card games (teach the kids a new one)
coloring
create a great big card for your next door neighbor just to say hello
Facetime or Skype with a friend, neighbor, or Grandma
watch a movie together
bake cookies, cook a meal together
make slime
read a book together
create a cardboard city (use boxes or other cardstock to create a town with stores, houses, park, school, etc)
play with legos
Surprise Activities:
get in the car and head to the park for a hike or biking
create a scavenger hunt in your back yard for them
rent or Netflix a new movie you all haven't seen yet, make popcorn
get in the car and take a drive. Just drive. Maybe go through the drive thru and get a snack or milkshake
4. Have daily quiet time. You can thank me later. Everyone needs quiet time. 30 minutes or an hour where you are away from everyone else in the home. This can be quiet reading time or nap time for littles. This might just be the one thing that will save your sanity during this crisis. Insist on it. Don't give in. Everyone will benefit. Set the oven timer or the alarm on your phone.
5. Turn off the TV. If you tend to have the news on in the background all day long. Turn it off. Kids will see the news stories of the Coronavirus over and over again (because news channels talk about it all day long). They might become overwhelmed by the news media reporting it over and over again. Turn off the TV so they aren't bombarded with it.
6. Get outside. Stretch your legs. Just because we are socially limiting right now doesn't mean we have to be inside. The kids can be out in your backyard playing. You can take walks. You can be outside. Your degree of limiting is set by you. If you feel like it is safe to play with neighborhood friends then do so.
We are in unprecedented territory here. We don't know the extent of this crisis and we don't know the outcome. It is always good to remember that we are all going through this together. We are stressed and doing the best we can. We will have good days and bad days. This crisis will test us. Patience and kindness is always appreciated. Be patient with each other. Be kind with each other.
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