After an entire year of lockdowns and longings, the world is starting to shift gears to a sense of normalcy with the ending in sight. However, we are still merely approaching the end of COVID19, which means we need to be careful by following lockdown and social distance protocols to take care of ourselves and our younger ones.
With so much free time to spend with younger ones, many parents have indulged in activities and incentives to enhance relationships with kids and build healthy COVID19 habits that stay forever. This parenting style has proven successful in helping create and sustain a long-lasting and close relationship between kids and parents, and we at NurtureKids are excited to share some of the personal experiences and measures that you can inculcate in your relationships with your child.
Stuck in a fast-paced digital world where it is impossible to live without technology, it comes as no surprise that most people have become glued to their phones during the pandemic. And who can blame them? When one can get everything from the new ‘SpongeBob Squarepants’ episodes to the ‘Among Us’ games, it is hard to bring one back to the ‘human’ world where frustrations due to the pandemic lead to squabbles and fights with the family. However, Puran shared how he and his wife tackled this issue with their 8 yr-old, Elisa.
“She (Elisa) loves the TV, and she can sit in front of it all day. In her interactions with us, we could tell she was complaining a lot more about trivial things due to frustration, and TV wasn’t solving any of that. We decided to start playing small in-house activities based on the kind of storytelling present on the shows she watches. One day we would pretend to pack up to go to a hotel for the night, which was us packing up and moving across the house to sleep with her Grandma. Other times we would pretend like we were on MasterChef Australia and have cooking competitions in the kitchen since it is a show all of us watch together.” With Puran’s approach to parenting, Elisa’s mental health and well-being are prioritized. Elisa’s interests and whatever she associates as ‘fun’ are being redirected to include the image of a family. It is essential to associate the correct items to the word ‘family’ for your growing ones, and even more so during COVID19. At the end of the day, frustrations and anger felt due to COVID19 are valid, but your growing ones might be struggling with their frustrations and might need a lot of patience and involvement from your side to grow happily and healthily. Some other activities that might help your kid associate fun with the family are:
Cooking – Cooking is one of the activities kids are fascinated about a lot, and usually, you can trick them into thinking cooking is fun rather than it being a chore. Try to create fun recipes using physical recipe books with your kids, and make innovative things or some of their favorite food items. This will definitely help bring you closer. And if they don’t like cooking or aren’t interested in it, add an incentive or a day in the week where kids prepare the food. Just make sure they aren’t left in the kitchen alone! Here are some fun recipes to make with your kids – www.weelicioom/20-easy-recipes-to-make-with-your-kids/
Creating things together – Kids are fascinated by the idea of creating, drawing, or doing something that requires fewer efforts and a whole lot of paint! Create small crafts using origami paper, normal paper, a glue stick, and some paints, or assist your child in making a masterpiece on the canvas. You can also engage your kids in assembling furniture – make sure the sharp pieces are kept away. Here are some craft ideas for you and your younger ones – www.happinessishomemade.net/quick-easy-kids-crafts-anyone-can-make
Gardening – Nature is healing, and that stands true for kids as well! Get your kids their own shovel and watering can as you together embark on an adventure to weed out and grow vegetables, water the flowers, or start a garden from scratch. Here are some things you can plant with your kids as well as fun indoor and outdoor activities while gardening – www.almanac.com/gardening-kids
Game Day – Kids love games, and anyone loves a good competition. Engage in an Indoor Game Marathon day once/twice a week where kids get to compete for incentives such as less chore work, more allowance, etc. This will help create value for money as well as a habit of doing chores. You can refer to this list for innovative games that can be played in-house as part of this marathon.
Movie Day – Many kids love watching movies based on shows they watch but probably are picky when it comes to watching movies outside of that. But there are probably many movies you want to show your kids and lessons you want them to learn while watching. We propose watching a movie together as a family twice per week and having the kids choose one movie per week while the parents choose the other (try to choose a family movie). Here is a list of fun and meaningful family movies to show to your kid.
We also need to make sure our kids are learning and growing through activities during this time. NurtureKids provides a holistic learning environment for kids to learn through innovative activities, fun assignments, and a staff dedicated to the cause. Classes are being conducted online and in-person, with all social distancing measures being followed. You can register for the upcoming Preschool online classes at join our Summer Camp for 2021 by registering. Watch this video to learn more about our Summer Camps https://youtu.be/CwaFUHZ4HBc!
Join in next week to learn more about inducing COVID habits for your family
REFERENCES
Photos 1 and 3 by August de Richelieu from Pexels.com
Photo 2 by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels.com
Photos 4 and 5 by RODNAE Productions from Pexels.com
Photo 6 by Allan Mas from Pexels.com
Written by:
Hanisha Dewan
Marketing Associate
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