5 Things we had to do to keep our kids in-line during COVID19 Quarantine

by · May 5, 2020

Well we are all in lock down, it has been 7 weeks of home isolation and social distancing. Lots of things have happen since then, Schools moved to Online, most of our shopping is done online, meetings are online, Gym and Personal training is online.

But during this time, we also had to figure out how to be able to keep my wife and myself working from home simultaneously without interruptions and make sure the kids are out of our ways on busy days.

The first week was a disaster, while my wife and I got up at 7:00am to have breakfast and get ready for working from home, the kids slept-in, basically it was not until 10:30am that they were having breakfast, and that shifted everything, We had to alternate between work and making meals 6 times a day (2 Breakfast, 2 lunch hours, 2 dinner times). I knew that was not going to work!

So I started my research right away and figure out the top 5 things I wanted to put in place, through reading a number of expert recommendations (Teachers, Psychologists, Doctors) I picked the ones that I thought were going to help us keep our sanity and also ensure the health of our family. Especially trying to cope with the unknown impact of COVID in our lives.

Establish a Schedule

Both adults and children need a schedule. It helps them organize their lives and ensure that tasks and activities are completed. As soon as I read that, I immediately worked with the kids and established some ground rules, wake up times, meal times, and activity times. There was some reluctance, but it worked well once they understood that there were times for fun activities as well. We put breaks and video game slots in place. This worked really well, but one of the best things that I was not even thinking about, we now have 3 meals together a day, when in my life I thought that would happen for 7 weeks straight. Big win Here! we use that time to check in school assignments, catch up on plans for the afternoon, and ensure the schedule is being followed both adults and children need a schedule. It helps them organize their lives and ensure that tasks and activities are completed. As soon as I read that, I immediately worked with the kids and established some ground rules, wake up times, meal times, and activity times. There was some reluctance, but it worked well once they understood that there were times for fun activities as well. We put breaks and video game slots in place. This worked really well, but one of the best things that I was not even thinking about, we now have 3 meals together a day, when in my life I thought that would happen for 7 weeks straight. Big win Here! we use that time to check in school assignments, catch up on plans for the afternoon, and ensure the schedule is being followed.

Add exercise to the schedule

Now that we had a schedule so we added exercise to it. Why, well both my kids play competitive soccer, that means 3 to 4 days of practice and games a week, all of a sudden, no Soccer! That means 2 kids with lots of energy around the house at bedtime. But both my wife and I also wanted to workout, so including the kids were going to be a win-win scenario. I like to run as you know, while my wife and kids were in the basement doing Zumba clips or some other type of exercise video, I was out on runs, 3-4 days a week. This paid well as we were making sure the kids stayed active and not fooling around or watching TV, and the most important it gave everyone a bit of Mental health relief and healthy schedule to do physical activity.

Add Healthy meals

With our busy schedule before COVID19, (school, work and soccer) it was always hard to try to make sure the kids had 100% healthy meals. We have not got to 100% yet, but we definitely have improved considerably. Making sure they eat healthy, means that their immune systems will stay healthy, which means their bodies will stay healthy. Also getting them involved in preparing meals or helping set the table so we can all enjoy a nice meal together. Don’t get me wrong there is always a treat here and there, cookies and popcorn are still being consumed in our household. But we are working towards lean and fresher food, with good success, especially since we are involving them in the meal preparations.

Helping with Chores around the house

Our kids had chores even before lockdown, we just had them balanced with their schedules of school and soccer. Since they had a bit more time in their hands, we added a few chores, that help keep the house organized while they are home all day. Walking the dog, feeding the dog, folding clothes, cleaning the dishes, helping with the groceries, as we bring groceries home, ensuring that they come and help with the organization of those into the pantry and fridge worked really well, not only they now know what we have in the pantry and what we need to make sure we restock next time we do an online order.

Have Fun

Finally, we also need to keep them entertained, we usually have a fairly active social life, and they are missing the fun times to get together with their cousins and friends. Game nights, movie nights, some scheduled, some just random nights. Particularly if they have done well on their schedule, we give them a break for extra movie time. We found a few series that we can watch with the kids and makes it fun to talk about them and discuss what will come next.

In conclusion

I’m not saying we got it 100% right, but I think the schedule will definitely make it easier once school resumes, and things start getting back to normal (whatever normal will be), it has given us as a family structure through the last few weeks and allow adequate work time for all. The exercise has also ensured that we are all mentally and physically healthy during these times, the kids are excited; and being so competitive they have put the time and effort on it, complimented by healthier meals which have lead to me shedding a few pounds and them have kept up with their level of activity and will be somewhat ready once soccer season resumes. With the chores we managed to keep our household in order and organized (especially keeping the wife happy!) and they have less time in their hands to waste. And finally Fun, We all need a bit of fun and that is also a big part of our day, fooling around at dinner time or before bedtime is something they look forward to and has them engaged on the whole plan.

I’m just happy to be able to share these with you, I can’t consider myself an expert in parenthood, but as long as they have big smiles and things feel somewhat normal we are wining the confinement.

If you have any tips or suggestion please feel free to subscribe and comment.

Here are some links that I used in the research

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