COVID-19 has been challenging for all of us, but parents have a unique challenge working from home with children at home. How do we keep our children active and safe without being able to access the resources in our communities with which we have become accustomed?
To help parents interact in helpful ways with their children during this time of confinement, the World Health Organization created these six one-page tip sheets for parents. They cover:
- planning one-on-one time,
- staying positive,
- creating a daily routine,
- avoiding bad behaviour,
- managing stress, and
- talking about COVID-19.
Use them to your and your kids’ advantage, and try to have fun in the process!
Great online resources
Being away from friends, extended family, and social activities can be hard on teens and kids. To help them stay connected, active, engaged and healthy, here are some creative suggestions:
- HighScope has some great suggestions for active learning at home – just as children engage in active learning throughout HighScope’s daily routine, they can do the same at home when parents incorporate learning into different parts of the day.
- To help kids stay connected, you might set up FaceTime or Skype visits or playdates.
- Child Mind Institute has some great resources, such as Mindfulness techniques to calm anxiety, to self care amidst a time of crisis, and so much more.
- Activities – Active For Life – These are activities designed to get kids moving and having fun. Each activity helps children develop fundamental movement skills, essential for physical literacy.
- You also can plan family activities. Taking a walk or a hike or riding bikes are great ways to get out and get active without having physical contact.
- Scholastic Learn at Home – Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking and growing.
- Alan’s Science at Home Experiments – Experiments you can do at home — entertaining for both children and adults!
We all have an opportunity to have this pandemic bring us closer as families and communities. Try finding ways to enjoy the precious gift of time and connection – and remember we are all in this together.