When you are stuck at home with your family for 24/7 it’s very easy to start to get a little stir crazy.
In a normal setting, yes, you do spend a good bit of time with your family, but depending on your situation, you may also get breaks from one another. Things get a little different when you are all “required” to stay at home. This can especially be a lot when your children are home with you at all times of the day, when normally they go to a daycare/preschool/school and so they spend their days there.
Recently there has been a daily schedule floating around the internet for what to do with your child when they are at home all day long. While that is all great, and I’m sure it’s a wonderful schedule, those of us who have kids know how hard it is to really get them to follow a schedule. So a friend of mine adjusted the schedule to make it fit “most parents” and told me I could share it on my blog. If you want to see the original schedule, you can probably google for it, or I’m sure it’s still floating around Facebook somewhere.
I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel so much better about myself knowing how many parents out there are hanging on for dear life while their kids are home. It’s so nice knowing that there are others out there that you can relate to in this crazy time. It’s also nice knowing that my child isn’t the only crazy-banshee type out there either.
With that being said, here’s some other ways to stay sane during all of this. (Remember, I’m not a professional in any capacity, these are just my fun loving opinions)
- Don’t be so hard on yourself. We are all human, which means we all make mistakes, or let the child watch a little too much TV, or eat that Cheetos off the floor, or forget to shower/brush our hair/brush our teeth/get dressed. Right now it’s all about survival, so some things may need to fall by the wayside in order to get through the day, and that’s OK. Once this all passes then the schedule can get back to normal, but until then, cut yourself a break. We all know we could use it.
- Take breaks. Even if they are a few minutes long. Make sure you are not running 24/7 trying to do everything. We have to be able to balance it all and have an understanding we may not be able to do it all. Taking breaks is a good way to slow down and make sure that at the end of this we aren’t so run down we get sick.
- Go outside. No, I don’t mean try to go to the store, or do something with friends. I mean go out in your front yard, or back yard and just soak up some sun. Play with bubbles, or in your pool, or with a water table. Chase your kids around, have a picnic. Something that just gets you out of the house so you aren’t going stir crazy.
- Facetime/skype/zoom. I get it, it’s hard to distance yourself from friends and family, but it must be done to help flatten the curve. With that being said, set up some time to Facetime/skype/zoom with them. Have a dinner party, or a happy hour, or just a chat. Having that connection with people can still happen while still social distancing.
- Booze. Things are going to get crazy. Things are going to get bad. Your husband and kids are probably going to drive you mad. Booze can most definitely help you with that.
Now while this list may not be extensive, it is important to remember, this is a serious time, one that not a lot of people have had any previous experience with, so we are all doing our best to get through it day by day. And that’s OK. But we have to remember, that we need to take care of ourselves too.
