Our New Home Life with COVID-19
2020… the rollercoaster ride continues! With Victoria now in Stage 4 lockdown due to COVID-19, there is an enormous sense of pressure on parents with school-aged kids, particularly on those that are now also asked to work from home. As our schools have shut and our workplaces have moved into our living places, our work-life balance becomes a unique and stressful juggle. I know this firsthand, with a toddler, tween and teenager, plus myself and my partner (a.k.a. the kids’ parents!) all living, schooling, childcaring and working from the one space, I understand the stress, angst and physical exhaustion that comes from this life arrangement.
My hope is that we can use this opportunity to become a more closely connected family unit, to understand our own individual needs a little more, and to share some lifelong memories along the way. But I also know that the reality of this situation on a day to day level may be very different. So, I have been wondering how can we make the most of this situation, how can I support myself, my children, my partner and our relationships during this new lockdown phase? After reading many blogs and guidelines, I’ve put together the following points in the hope that they can provide us all with some pearls of wisdom that makes each “work from home” and “home-schooling” day a happy, productive, and healthy day… well, that’s my hope, anyway!
Nourish: nourish yourself and your family with whole foods, those wonderful foods that are full of immune- boosting, brain power, energy-providing nutrients. Plan to do a cook up each weekend; for the sake of a few hours on a weekend, you can cook up a batch or two of soup, put on the slow cooker for a beautiful lamb curry, and make two trays of roasted veggies – there’s your weeks lunches and possibly a dinner or two!
Schedule: as workers we are used to a schedule, and as pupils, our children are used to a timetable, so it makes sense that we plan our family schedule for each day. Perhaps, as the family sits down to dinner, you can discuss the next day’s schedule for each person, and everyone can be involved in its development. This way, there is no anxiety about what the next day may bring. The caveat to this is be prepared to be flexible, anything may pop up to throw the schedule into disarray – and that’s ok. If 2020 has taught us anything, it has taught us to role with the punches, and that flexibility plus planning is key.
Get up and get out: try to get some fresh air first thing in the morning, after all, this is what we would all be doing if we were doing the school drop-off or going to work. Play outside, stretch outside, go for a short walk or run, whichever exercise sees you and your family breath in some fresh air and invigorate your mind and body.
Family play / connection: in your daily routine, incorporate family play time – this encourages connection and fun, and is an excuse to laugh and release some stress from the day.
Social connection: designate some time for yourself and your children to have social connection outside of the family, such as Zoom/FaceTime catch ups with friends (e.g. eating pizza with mates), writing letters to friends and extended family, preparing a video text, etc.
House zones: if you can, create designated zones within your house – e.g. school classroom zone (i.e. this is where the kids do their schoolwork), working office zone (i.e. this is where Mum/Dad goes to work), meal and snack time zone, relax zone, etc. And these zones may fade away after a certain time of the day (e.g. the house goes back to the home after 4pm).
Social media detox: please, be mindful of social media and how you’re using it. I often notice that scrolling through the pages of social media doesn’t make me feel good during times of hardship or stress, the messages and images can be overwhelming. If social media isn’t serving you, consider taking a break from it.
Relax and unwind: each and every day, incorporate some time for yourself to unwind. For me, this is taking a long soak in a warm bath with a few candles lighting the room at the end of each day, it literally takes the stress from the day, relaxes my muscles, and gives me a moment of time to breathe, and possibly even meditate!
Remember, this lockdown can be a time for family connection, for health and happiness for the whole family, if it can be done with love, planning, and empathy… especially for yourself. Know that we will be frazzled at times, and go with that but carefully listen to it, is there somewhere you can pull back or something you can let go of? Some days will be tougher than others, but with sincere and honest communication amongst family members and being true to ourselves with what we can happily, and healthfully, achieve, we will come out of this a stronger, closer, connected family. We’ve got this, Victoria!