[00:05] We are currently going through some really unchartered territory with the Coronavirus outbreak all over the world. With the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring it a pandemic, the virus known as Covid-19 has heavily impacted our family lives in all aspects. Where we are in this moment is a period of uncertainty seeing as the end of this threat to our health is yet to be determined. If there is a piece of good news amidst all of this, we have found that the virus strain is not particularly threatening to our young children. Though, I would imagine that the current situation puts our kids at an increased risk since we as parents are in a state of constant alarm, making it difficult to parent and keep our wits about us. 

[02:20] This international health crisis is affecting all of us, not only to our health and those of our loved ones but also economically with job uncertainty. Recently, I keep hearing about friends who have lost their jobs. I have a lot of friends in the performing arts and restaurant industry, whose shows have been forced to close and restaurants facing closure, if not already closed. Not only them but also those who work for them. Indeed, this is a huge crisis we are facing beyond the health concern. Even the schools that our kids are attending will be closed for the time being. Everything has been a really huge turn of events that has happened at an incredibly rapid rate. 

[03:50] Once my kids get picked up from school today, they’ll be home for the next six weeks, at the least. What’s the implication of this? I will be figuring out how to continue working and help my children at the same time. Over that span of time, my kids - one is a preschooler, another is in elementary or middle schooler, and the other is a high schooler, will be doing online and home remote learning. They will all be managing this recent development in different ways, according to their age and the stage they’re currently at. 

[05:57] We’re going to jump right into our first topic which is, how do we talk to our kids about scary things that might be happening in the world, which in our case right now, is the coronavirus. How are we going to have this type of conversation with our children? The last thing that we want to do is to share our anxiety and fears with our young ones. After all, it is our duty as parents to protect them from becoming anxious and overwhelmed by what’s going on which they may not be ready for. We need to look after their emotional health and well-being especially during these trying times. It is also a great idea to seek supplementary help from friends and professionals to form a support system that’ll come in handy for you at a particular time that a need arises.

[09:08] In the event that your child reaches out and shares with you what they know, make it a point to acknowledge, fill in the details without necessarily oversharing,  and clarify misinformation if there is any. Additionally, it is a good time more than ever to stress proper hygiene and the importance of handwashing. Introduce the 20-second rule and make it into something fun instead of nagging. Here, we provide you several ideas for this, as well as other tips such as reminding your kids to wash their hands after blowing their nose, encourage them to avoid touching their faces often, and many more. 

[10:52] For school-age kids, they tend to be more aware of what’s going on around them with the kind of access that they have to different sources of information. While this may be good, at times, it can also be the cause of their increased anxiety. As a parent, you need to be on the lookout for signs in ways that your kids may be acting out. Now is the time to help ease their worries and connect with them so you may give out a kind of guide through this trying period. 

[16:28] Staying in touch with friends and peers is also of importance, especially now that get-togethers aren’t feasible. It’s a good thing that technology now allows us to be creative so staying connected isn’t as difficult as it used to be. Also, it is important to point out that it’s never a good idea to tell your kids to just calm down or relax during times like these. Your message should be something like, “We’ve got this” or “We’re on top of the situation”. Reassuring your children that you’ll be able to make the best choices for your family and manage to stay safe and healthy during this period of time. 

[19:09] In dealing with the impending possibility of schools being closed for the rest of the school year or the entire year itself, your mindset as a parent and someone your children look up to makes all the difference. You need to change any negative mindset you have and change the way you think towards being unable to take them on play dates or to public places, or the need to be away from the rest of their peers for an extended stretch, among other things. You need to remember that kids are like sponges in a way that they’re going to pick up what we put out there. 

[20:45]  Right now, we need to think of the projects that you’ve always wanted to knock off at home. It may be cooking, baking, or organizational tasks that you’ve always put off but you can now do together with your kids. There are more than a few ideas for projects and activities for these long stretches of days when there are no plans for you or your children. Now that you’ve got the time, let’s take advantage of that. 

[26:43] One of the tips that homeschooling families provided for this specific situation is to think about creating a routine versus having a schedule to follow. That way, things are a bit more open-ended in terms of the amount of time that you’ll spend per activity on a given day. Having unstructured free playtime can also be a great idea especially for your younger ones. Having some type of routine in mind, your kids won’t even think about things that are unproductive such as becoming couch potato zombies on screens all day long.

[30:16] Another idea that you may consider is for your kids to maintain that connection with their teacher as well. Kids do miss their teachers too when they’re away from them for an extended period of time, such as the current situation. To further ensure the success of your learning-at-home venture, you might also want to set up a special home learning environment to help them stay on task and keep them supervised as well. Decreasing distractions such as TV, phones, computers, etc may also be necessary unless they’re part of the work that your children are doing right there and then.

[32:17] Don’t be afraid to mix things up. You have every right to readjust according to what’s working and what needs to be improved. It’s perfectly fine to try something different tomorrow especially if, just like many of us are, you’re doing this for the very first time. 

[33:18] My final big nugget. Most of us are parents who work full-time or part-time that are now being displaced from our usual work environments. So, you might’ve also asked this question, “How do I manage to work while my kids are also at home?” This is unchartered territory for most of us, and we have a few tricks up our sleeves that we’re going to share with you.