Life in lockdown with children

Like any normal human being or parent, lockdown has been somewhat of a challenge and something that none of us have ever experienced before. As parents it has become a new norm to work from home as well as having to home school or entertain your child/children. This is our new way of life (for now) so, we may as well make the most of it while it lasts.

At Homebodies we have heard first-hand the struggles parents and nannies have experienced with this change in lifestyle. We have had a lot of families saying that their children are suddenly acting up, throwing tantrums and just not their usual selves. In our opinion it is possible that your child or children are anxious, miss their friends, school and activities they used to do before lockdown.

We recommend trying your best to spend some one-to-one time with each child – it can be for an afternoon or even just an hour (whatever you can fit in or manage), as they may really appreciate that extra attention and special time a parent can offer. We hope by doing this it should improve their attitudes and reassure them.

Look at it this way – this is possibly the only time in your lifetime that you will be forced to stay home and spend time with your family, so grab the opportunity by the horns and do as much as you possibly can. To help you with what to do, we have a list of 5 things (which we will update regularly, even when things are back to normal) on what activities and fun things you can do at home to keep everyone happy.

Number 1:

A popular thing to do is to bake or cook with your kids. This is something that can be super fun and easy to do as well as being extremely beneficial for your little ones. It can also potentially eliminate fussy eaters as they know what has gone into the meal. It is also a way of teaching them the weights of different cooking ingredients and how to measure them. The oth

er thing to note is that cooking is a vital skill that everyone should have and by teaching your children from a young age, you are doing them a huge favour for later on in life and you’re making something super tasty that they can be proud of. You are also making breakfast, lunch or dinner – a meal, in the process which in turn ticks something off your “to do” list, which is fantastic! We recommend taking a look at Mimi’s Bowl on Instagram @mimisbowl or go to her web page: www.mimisbowl.com for some cooking inspo!

Number 2:

Arts and crafts. Another really fun thing to do over rainy weekends or when you know you will have time to spend indoors. There are a variety of things you can do, including: DIY lava lamps, glitter jars, homemade snow globes, DIY kaleidoscope’s and cloud dough - just to name a few. If you don’t want so much mess then kids always love drawing and cutting which is always easy and mess free!

(We have attached links at the end to see what supplies you need and what you need to do for the activity you choose).

Number 3:

Make a lockdown bucket list. Draw up a bucket list of things that you all want to do during lockdown. It can be anything from baking a rainbow cake, riding a bike without training wheels or reading 10 books. You could use it to create some motivation to master some skills or things that you and your family haven’t had the chance to do with your busy work and school schedules.

Number 4:

Kid friendly experiments. This is something that can be fascinating and fun for the whole family. There are a range of simple, easy and interesting experiments that can be done at home such as: storm in a jar, magic paper towel experiment, how to grow borax crystals and the list goes on. (We have attached links at the end to see what supplie

s you need and what you need to do for the above experiments).

Number 5:

Letters. Due to the majority of people being at home during this time, writing letters is a great way to pass time. The letters can go to anyone: loved ones, friends, NHS staff, the postman/woman etc. Kids always enjoy popping a letter in the post box or if the person they are writing to is nearby them you could walk them over and let them post it through their letter box. Buy a variety of coloured paper, envelopes, stickers etc. to make those letters pop!

We know this time hasn’t been easy, especially due to the fact that no one really knows what’s going on or when we will be back to normal. But for now, all we can do is care for one another and make sure we follow the rules and regulations that have been put in place to keep us all safe and healthy.

Lastly, remember that time spent playing with children is time never wasted.

Arts & Crafts:

DIY Lava Lamp: https://www.parentsfirst.babyfirsttv.com/post/diy-lava-lamp

Glitter Jars: https://www.firefliesandmudpies.com/how-to-make-glitter-jars/

Homemade Snow Globes: https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/easy-photo-snow-globe-craft-for-kids.html

DIY Kaleidoscope: https://www.darcyandbrian.com/fun-kaleidoscope-kids-craft/

Cloud Dough: https://www.woojr.com/easy-2-ingredient-cloud-dough/

Experiments:

Storm in a jar: https://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2016/04/storm-in-jar-experiment.html

Magic Paper Towel Experiment: https://activelittles.com/magic-paper-towel-experiment/

How to grow a borax crystal: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Grow-Borax-Crystals/?linkId=78469550