With news of Corona and lockdown, we feel the world has almost come to a standstill! Among kids, work from home, news channels and everything Covid-19, we asked parents how they were holding up? Was there a routine they had sent have set for themselves and the kids? This is what our contributor Shraddha Fogla @2monkeys.and.me shared with us about her family.
Its been almost 3 weeks that we have been in a lockdown situation but now it feels like it has been forever we have been at home. It started off as a challenge to keep kids happy and entertained at home, do the everyday chores and spend quality time with family. But multitasking to manage work is getting tedious and tiring both mentally and physically.
The numbers are here to increase but there’s always a hope that we would be safe. News of young children getting it and old folks succumbing to it drives my fears up the wall. My fears are not only of the virus but fear of not getting essential commodities for my children, fear of not being able to provide the food they prefer to eat if there is a hit on the food chain.
Thankfully my children thrive on routines and that’s something I completely believe in and follow. When kids are on a routine they know what to expect from their day and behave much better than when they are completely thrown out of a routine.
My boys have been on a routine for the longest time that I can remember. By 3 months they had a sleep/ wake and nursing routine and it kept altering as per their needs and they are still on routines in quarantine not just to keep them sane but to keep me sane too and have some me-time in the chaotic day now.
If 9 PM was the bedtime for boys it's now shifted to 10.30 but that’s the deadline. They wake up by 9/9.30 am and then the daily chores start. A time difference of 2.5 – 3 hours between mealtime and wake up and sleep time keeps them on track.
We have a couple of hours of home-schooling anytime during the day and the rest of the time is free play. We still do limit the screen-time to 45 mins at most. Sometimes lesser and sometimes just at ad bit more to keep us sane.
Parenting comes with its own set of challenges, challenges that we cannot predict and only deal with as it comes. But no parent must have thought they would have to deal with being at home locked down for unknown days with or without much domestic help, with limited resources, terrible twos, threes and all the terrible meltdown of their little ones managing home and work from home and most importantly keeping themselves and their little ones and family safe from some virus that could change their lives if they get in contact with it.
It’s not been easy, home-schooling, blogging, doing some other work, running around being their full-time nanny. What keeps me strong is the love for my family and that loves helps me provide what they need. What keeps me motivated is that all bad things come to an end and this is a phase that’s tough but will pass as well. My anxiety kicks in when the boys have slept and I then watch some Netflix, drink my coffee or listen to some music to unwind.
How are you keeping your kids and yourself engaged? Write into us at [email protected]. We would love to know how everyone is coping with this crisis!
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