Each minute of our life is a lesson but most of us fail to read it. I thought I would just add my daily lessons & the lessons that I learned by seeing the people around here. So it may be useful for you and as memories for me.

The coronavirus outbreak is affecting people across World in different ways. For parents of school-going kids across the countries, the experience has been overwhelming and exhausting. As a parent I can observe and feel that the Parenting is turning to be harder by uncertainty, stress and economic hardship. Parents and children are living with increased stress, media hype and fear, all challenging our capacity for tolerance and long-term thinking.

The coronavirus pandemic has left a lot of parents panicking about how on earth to make sure their children keep safe and keep learning during lockdown. As schools are closed in various countries around the world, keeping kids engaged at home has become a major concern now. I also learnt that For many, the economic impact of the crisis increases parenting stress, abuse, and violence against children,”

While everyone is fighting the war against coronavirus, you can turn this into an opportunity to make your children learn new skills. Here are few ways to engage your kids at home during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Do not miss this phase of Life

During this lockdown phase, there are going to be interesting, diverse scenarios taking place in homes at the moment. Don’t get frazzled, because teachers don’t lose it – they are quite calm. And just remember that your children are transitioning as well. We need to use lots of negotiation and give and take.

Every parent is concerned because we’re taking up a new role here, which we’ve never had to do before. But it’s not going to be permanent. There’s no quick fix, and you’re not a failure, because this is brand new to us all. The positive thing is, we’re going to get to know our children more.

Talk to your children

First, explain clearly to children why we are all forced to be indoors and the importance of adhering to this restriction. Once they understand the reasoning, you will be surprised at how much more willing they will be to comply.

Parents should talk openly to children about their behaviour because communication was critical at this time. During this phase parents had all the time in world to get to know their children a little bit more. It was the perfect opportunity to have regular discussions with them.

Set up a Daily routine

It starts with a routine, not only for kids but also for us parents. Creating a schedule with a daily routine can be an effective way to tackle anxiety. This would make the kids feel at ease, safer and more relaxed.

The important thing here is to create a plan with some room for flexibility. Set up a schedule for waking up, eating, and learning activities and fun things to do. This will help you as well as the kids to feel normalcy while also maintaining discipline.

Let them start painting!

You can plan and conduct any painting challenge with innovative painting ideas. Each day, you can make them give painting one hour of their time and simply experiment with whatever idea they get for the day.It can be anything from a fruit, a memory, a place or abstract designs with paint.

Painting is a very natural form of expression and it can be meditative too as it soothes their mind and keeps it calm. So, let you kids go ahead and explore this creative language!

Engage them in doing exercises and practicing yoga

Exercising improves strength, flexibility, agility, and mobility and most importantly it can help build your kids immunity during this Coronavirus pandemic.

Practice meditation and pranayama to destress your life and relax their soul. This will also inculcate a lot of energy and boost their stamina.

Let them chat to friends

It’s really important for the children to communicate with their friends. Parents can set up Zoom talks, skype calls with their children’s friends. Not every day, but during the week, there should be some way they’re connected with somebody else that’s not you, and not another adult.

Plan virtual fun activities with their peers

Plan fun activities over video call with their peers to give them time to socialise. Making study groups can be a great way to make your kids socialise and will decrease the feeling of isolation.

Create an activity plan with parents of their peers so that they can do some activities together over video calls for example, quizzes, karaoke, singing competitions, story telling, DIY activities .

Support them to Grow plants at home

This lockdown time can be utilized in growing plants in your garden. Make your kids grow as many plants as they can. Encourage them them in gardening by making them grow tulsi and aloe vera which emit oxygen.

As the world is deprived of clean air, they will work wonders when they grow into trees in a few decades even if you may not be there to see them. If you grow 5 to 10 oxygen-emitting plants, you will add to the pre-existing resources.

Give them a push to Make Creative stuff

Engage the kids in creative activities of all kinds. Stock up on craft supplies (instead of toilet paper!). Make paintings, knit a scarf, start a daily sketchbook journal, create a stash of cute pop-up cards, sew a baby quilt, make a scrapbook.

Teach them how to bake cookies and bread and how to make simple dinners such as homemade mac ‘n cheese, vegetable soup, and pasta sauce. Build an awesome cardboard box fort, tree fort, or set up an indoor tent. Redecorate a bedroom.

Try and limit screen time

Lots of parents have contacted us to say they’re worried about children sitting in front of the computer for five hours a day.

Parents will be strongly tempted to stick their kids in front of screens for multiple hours a day, just to get their own work done, but this isn’t healthy, nor is it fair to kids who deserve more of an active role from their parents, especially if they’re missing school. I think it’s reasonable to let them have a half-hour a day . Whatever screen time rules you set should be made clear up front, so that the temptation for kids to ask is eliminated right away. (And if they keep asking, they lose the privilege of watching altogether.)

Let them watch Inspirational movies and educational TV series

There is a long list of TV series that will educate your kids on various topics. The National Geographic documentaries are a way fun way to learn. Let your kid pick the genre of their choice and go watch them online. There are many online learning portals and youtube channels for kids.

If you have access to a Netflix connection or Amazon Prime, there are a vast number of documentaries and docu-series you can watch on a variety of genres.If you want to watch the top movies, just check out the IMDB top 50 list and check which ones you haven’t watched. If you are lucky, you can find them online or you can always download.

Get their hands deep in experiments

Give your kids some time to focus on fun activities like DIY science experiments, craft, drawing, watching documentaries and educational videos.Try to not be too hard on them (remember, they are having a hard time). Save your interventions for when you really need them!

Let them Lose in good books

Book reading is always a best habit. These are certain books that people of all ages can enjoy here are a few engaging books your kid should be able to find interesting .  You can find books online for free to make this Coronavirus lockdown time a fun experience for their lazing around with an engrossing book.

Share the responsibility

We need to jointly plan and give them that sense of responsibility. It’s quite powerful for them to take control of what they’d like to do. And if that’s being in their room drawing, then give them that time, make them exhausted from doing that, because they will get bored very soon.

And when they want to do other things, that’s where, as a parent, you’ve already got all these resources and ideas ready to go.

Encourage them to Learn a new language

Learning a language is a fun experience but it does need dedication. A language learned will give anyone an edge over others. It will add weight to their profile and will help them in career as well.

That will also open new avenues of education and jobs in the future.Check out the various online courses and mobile apps available to easily learn new languages. Make them attend the online classes and appear for the test to get an online certificate for their new language skill! This will not let them get bored while everything is locked down.

Learn about future goals & understand your role

Its wonderful opportunity for every parent to understand their kinds needs and learn about their life goals. If they do not have any yet, its time where you explain them what is goal and why they are important in life. Make them read books, magazines, online websites on career planning and life goals and plan your targets in life.

Ask your child to list down what they want to be 10 years from now and let them start working on their goals during the Covid-19 lockdown.Study journals and books that will take them closer to their dreams and start working on them. This practice can become the most fruitful practice during the Coronavirus lockdown period.

Last, but not the least, share your stories

All of us like posting our pictures and stories on our social media accounts. So, tell us how you spent your day when everything is locked down. Share with us on the mail or on our Facebook pageLately, people have been playing with Instagram challenges, posting stories, and asking questions Covid-19. Write about how you made a quarantine time period productive.You can also start your own blog about what you are doing during the Coronavirus lockdown and post there every day along with interesting photos of what you are doing around the house.

School, colleges shutdown is also a chance to make better relationships with our children and teenagers. One-on-One time…makes children feel loved and secure, and shows them that they are important.

Children are quite observant about what it is going on in their surrounding environment. Regardless of age, every kid is aware that the lifestyle has currently taken a pause and can sense that the adults around them are at unease. So communication becomes the utmost necessity wherein talking with your children in a calm, simple and factual way enables you to control the narrative, providing essential information without promoting distress.

Placing boundaries on media exposure is a good preventative action. Try to think of yourself as their mentor and step up! Do reach out to your friends and family in time of need. Remember, this will pass.

A crisis often brings out the best in you and you discover qualities that you never knew existed within. 

A time of crisis is not just a time of anxiety and worry. It gives a chance, an opportunity, to choose well or to choose badly.

Any deep crisis is an opportunity to make your life extraordinary in some way.

Any kind of crisis can be good. It wakes you up.

As for any of us in crisis, hope is the one thing that’s everything. 

Trust me, we together beat this crisis. Stay at Home, Stay Safe.

Please feel free to share your story and any lessons you learned, you experienced, you came across in your life in the comments below. If you enjoyed this, or any other other posts, I’d be honored if you’d share it with your family, friends and followers!

If you wish to follow my journey outside of my writing, you can find me on Instagram(MunnaPrawin) and Twitter(@munnaprawin).