Guest blog by Gwen Payne of www.invisiblemoms.com

Even though life with Covid is starting to get back to some kind of normalcy. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caring for kids when self-isolating as a family is a priority for all households. If you’ve been in contact with someone with the virus, it’s a good idea to self-isolate. While self-isolation will protect you and your family from falling ill, it can create a major lifestyle change. Leading to stress and uncertainty.

This change can be particularly hard for young children to adjust to. It will be difficult to make them understand why they can’t leave the house. To visit their friends or play at their favorite park. Additionally, as a parent, you need to juggle between caring for your child and working from home. This article explores steps you can follow to overcome stress. To make the time you spend with family an enjoyable one.

Get tested

The number one stressor you’ll have is whether you’re sick or not. The best way to overcome negative thoughts and uncertainties about your health is to get tested. Depending on where you live, opt to take a self-administered test. Make arrangements for collection or visit a designated clinic.

Having a negative test result will provide you with peace of mind and allow you to focus on other things. Additionally, if you are eligible, it is advised to get vaccinated as according to research, it provides additional protection from the virus.

Have a Family Routine

The pandemic has cast a shadow of uncertainty on everything from jobs, schools reopening, travel, and more. This uncertainty is magnified by negative news on television and social media. Constantly being exposed to such content will make you feel unmotivated and stressed.

Having a routine can help you overcome uncertainty and gain control over your time and actions. For example, at school, children have set routines, they know which class is next and when the breaks are. Knowing what to expect next, helps to reduce stress.

Adopt this same principle for your family isolation as follows:

• Set specific wake-up and sleep times ensuring that you get at least 8 hours of sleep
• Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together
• Dedicate 1-2 hours a day towards family activities such as reading books, like Follow Breza to Preschool, watching a movie, playing games, etc
• Ask your child to design a creative timetable for these activities

Follow your schedule for a week and then make changes as needed.

Manage Work Stress

While working from home has its advantages, it has also brought forward various challenges such as – longer working hours, unstructured job responsibilities, increased tension levels, and more. Additionally, according to ZenBusiness, 62% of individuals working in leadership roles feel stressed with their job and have stated that they struggle to maintain work-life balance as the primary cause.

While your family schedule will help in improving this balance, here are some additional steps you should follow:

• Create hard start and stop times for working. Your hours might be flexible, but maintaining a specific time period will improve productivity and concentration levels.
• Take short 5 minute breaks each hour. Get up from your workstation, check on your kids, and drink water.
• Don’t make the mistake of working in isolation. Constantly communicate with your team, delegate tasks, and ask for help as needed.

Support Each Other

There might be days when caring for kids when they may not feel their best while self-isolating as a family. On such occasions, it is important to support them and provide reassurance. Having a simple conversation about their fears or stress can help make them feel calm. If needed, allow them to have their personal space.

Similarly, it is common for young children to misbehave and act out when they are nervous or tense. According to the WHO, the best way to help children feel calm is to distract them before feeling overwhelmed. You can achieve this by assigning them simple tasks to complete, providing positive feedback on completion, and keeping them occupied throughout the day.

Self-isolation can be tough to adapt to, however, it can also be a blessing allowing you to spend time with your family and develop stronger bonds with your children.