6 Ways To Spend Quality Time With Your Kids During The Lockdown
With all schools and educational institutions shut down across the country due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it is a challenge for parents to keep their children occupied. Most of the kids will be busy with their studies, playing video games or glued to their smartphones. Amidst balancing your household chores and office work, spending quality time with your kids is getting a tad difficult.
But some simple steps will help to align all your daily tasks properly and spend quality time with your kiddos. Continue reading to learn more about it.
Prepare a routine
The first step is to relax and stay calm. It is okay to not be perfect in balancing office work, household chores and parenting all at once. Do not be too hard on yourself if you think you are failing. You have to be calm as your mental state will affect your child and other family members.
Now, prepare a time table for your entire day. Jot down the most important tasks that you have to do first. Write down when you would perform all your household chores. Then write down your exact working hours, if you are working from home. This will give you a clear idea about how much time you got to spend with your kids.
Prepare a time table for your kids as well. Schedule their studies and playtime activities properly, so that they have enough time to spend with you. Make sure that both you and your kids’ routines are aligned properly.
Reduce the number of gadgets
If you want to spend some quality time with your children, try to limit their gadget usage. As a busy parent, you might think that video games and smartphones will kill your child’s boredom. But too much screen time is harmful to their mental and physical well-being. Plus, if your kids are busy with video games and TV shows, they might not be enthusiastic about spending time with you.
Assign your kids a specific number of hours for using gadgets. This will help the kids avoid gadget addiction. This will also allow you to spend more time with him or her.
Also, make sure that your kids are maintaining the time table discussed earlier.
Engage in indoor activities
A great way to spend time together and strengthen your bond with your kids is through indoor activities. You can start by playing indoor games together such as ludo, chess, carom, Chinese checkers, scrabble or any other game you prefer. The aim is to play a game that engages the child and helps him/ her develop thinking and analytical abilities while enhancing togetherness.
Encourage kids to help you with cooking. Teach them how to wash vegetables, clean the kitchen table, do the dishes and even make balls out of dough for making chapatis! Tell them to keep their room neat and tidy always. This will help them inculcate a habit of cleanliness, organization and discipline.
Help them out with schoolwork
As a parent, you have to maintain your child’s habit of studying. Find time in your busy schedule to sit with your child and help them out with their studies. Many schools and colleges across the country are providing online classes and study materials. It won’t be difficult to assist them. You can also understand where your child is excelling and where he or she might be lagging behind.
Give them breaks between the study sessions. This will keep it interesting and increase their interest in the subject. This is also a great time to talk about school. Ask them about their school, their friends and exams. Get to know if anything might have been bothering them at school. This is a great time to let your child open up and be brutally honest.
Help your kids connect with others
Help your kids connect with their friends and other relatives. The best way to do this by giving them a call. Video calls are fun and interesting, and engaging. This is a great opportunity to bond with your kids and relatives while spending some enjoyable moments together.
Some teenagers tend to isolate themselves. This is not good for their mental health. Encourage them to call their friends. This will make them feel better.
Teach them something new
Were you an awesome artist back in college? Did you steal hearts while strumming your guitar? Then this is the perfect time to teach your kids your skill. Sit with them and teach them the basics of drawing if your kids are into it. You can teach them a musical instrument that you know.
This activity will help you spend some great moments together. It will also allow your kids to explore their creative side.
No matter how busy you get, try to carve out some time for your kids so that they can talk to you. The quality time spent with your kids must not only be about having fun and games. This is also an important time for you and your kid to connect deeply.
