Recommendations to ease living together

How confinement affects the little ones

The Coronavirus is bringing about major changes in our lives, but let's not forget that the little ones are suffering through it too. Let's reflect on how a child's normal life has been altered: from not going to school, not being able to interact with their peers, no longer going to the park, not attending their after-school activities, etc. And let's not forget that they are full of energy and this needs to be channeled in some way.

Recommendations to make living together easier at home

There are several days ahead during which we must remain confined, and that is why we have created a series of recommendations in order to make living together easier for everyone.

1. First, it is essential that there be Psychoeducation that explains to the child what the Coronavirus is and the reasons why we must stay at home.

For the youngest ones, we recommend the following story: https://www.copmadrid.org/web/publicaciones/rosa-contra-el-virus-cuento-para-explicar-a-los-ninos-y-ninas-el-coronavirus-y-otros-posibles-virus

2. Maintain routines and schedules. As a family you can create a routine calendar where you agree on habits such as for example what time everyone should wake up and go to bed, what household chores to do, when to do homework, and playtime schedules. In addition, this calendar will involve the whole family and so the little ones will generate their own responsibilities.

3. In relation to the above, it will also be a good time to develop their autonomy, such as getting dressed and undressed on their own, folding their clothes, teaching them new household chores in order to foster their ability to cooperate.

4. It is a good opportunity to bring out the board games, setting aside the screens that are so easy to reach for these days.

5. It is also a good occasion for the crafts that we ourselves used to do when we were little, such as making bracelets, drawing, doing puzzles, making collages with old magazines, or simply painting. With this we strengthen their fine motor skills, imagination, and creativity.

6. Since time allows it, we can bring out the "chef within us" with our children. With this we will get them to read recipes, get to know foods and handle them, learn to organize themselves, improve their skills, and increase their patience.

7. Physical exercise as a family. There are countless online classes that can offer you exercise, such as the "exercises for children at home" by Andrea Zambrana, dancing, or we can introduce the practice of yoga, so beneficial for body and mind. In this way they will reduce stress and improve attention ("YOGIC" is a good link that you can find on Youtube).

Singing is also a good way to reduce tension and calm the child.

8. Learn relaxation and meditation together. Days are coming when we will be cooped up for many hours and this can generate stress. To reduce it we can have moments to relax and also learn and teach children how to meditate. It could be a good daily routine.

Examples of relaxation and meditation to do as a family

Below we will give you some tips with examples so that you can put it into practice.

For relaxation you can do the "pizza massage" where both the children and the parents give a massage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajKQi1jQ85c) or the "calm train" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbX1zehQt_Y).

For meditation, you can do a guided one called "my safe place" in which the children lie down with their eyes closed and you begin to tell them a story in which the children imagine a place where they feel comfortable(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSdds04BGiw).

9. Treasure hunt or clue games. Although it is a game that requires preparation time, it will be fun and entertaining to search for objects. This way we foster indirect reading, the creation of strategies, the strengthening of their patience, and learning to work as a team.

10. Set up a tent. We can use sheets, cushions, blankets, which will be the materials we use to create this fun tent, and there we can read stories, tell tales, or even sleep in it some night.

Be flexible: the change is for everyone

As we mentioned at the beginning of the post, difficult days are coming and we must be aware that it will not be easy for them, which is why we recommend being more flexible and lowering our level of demands, because let's remember that the change is for everyone.