Stuck at Home? What to Do with Kids During Covid-19
In this uniquely FREE blog series full of practical tips and engaging videos, I’ll show you the skills to level up time at home to teach children better emotional regulation and resilience.
Right now, all over the world, parents are trying to figure out what to do with their kids “stuck” at home. In a matter of days, our lives flipped upside down as the whole world began rapid-responding to Covid-19. Everyone is feeling it - urgency, anxiety, isolation - and with our kids at home we’re trying hard not to show it. What we are doing is short order cooking, breaking up sibling smackdowns, and finding endless things to do until we get the okay to return to the sweet relief of school, parks, and playdates.
Many of us are trying to fit in work being with the kids all day long. Keeping afloat financially. And we’re under pressure to be everything to our children, all the time, for the foreseeable future. It’s intense and unrelenting. A potential powder keg of emotion! We didn’t plan to be here - but we’re gonna find a way through. Holding tight and taking care of our families, while also distancing and protecting our grandparents, friends, and wider communities.
In times like these, you might need someone to hold your hand through the rough bits. You’re balancing work time, homeschool, screen time, meals, routine, health and hygiene, and behavior. Your kids might seem blissfully unaware - or feeling the stress and the worry, missing their friends and extended family, absorbing some of the pressure we feel. In such close quarters, they might be acting up in ways you never expected, let alone feel prepared to handle with love and logic. I get it - and I’m right there with you.
Here’s some hope - this time can be about more than basic survival. Imagine coming out of this not only surviving, but thriving. Sharing more joy. Closer than ever. Grateful for this extra time to bond with your kids.
You see, we can be intentional about how to spend this time. Life is giving us lemons, and we can whip them into fluffy meringue pie. I’m talking about the new science of resilience. As a parent, you have the ability to turn a crisis like this into an opportunity to learn new skills and keep growing. Investing in our kids to come out of this stronger and healthier, actually banking positive memories to last a lifetime.
I’m Georgie, a play therapist, parenting consultant, speaker, and mom to a five year old son. And you’ve probably already heard of my mentor, Tina. Dr. Tina Payne Bryson writes amazing parenting books with Dr. Daniel Siegel about how kids’ brains get wired through healthy connection and positive attachment. You may know of The Whole Brain Child, their groundbreaking first book. It’s been on the bestseller list for a really, really long time. Or their latest release, The Power of Showing Up, that educates parents about the Four S’s - easing behavior struggles by helping kids feel safe, seen, soothed and secure.
With Tina’s seal of approval, I’m going to teach you how you can create a haven for your kids at home. Tina’s got mountains of expertise in brain science and child rearing theory, and I’ve got years of being in the trenches with parents, wrestling with their kids’ behavior. We believe that no matter what is going on around us, it all comes down to our relationships. I’ll help you understand what is behind the behavior so you can approach parenting moments with deeper insight, growing more connected with your child than you ever thought possible. Creating positive bonds to overcome any challenge. Together.
Believe it or not, the wacky creative projects your kids ask you to do with them every day (for parents of toddlers, read all day) could be your saving grace. Scientists tell us that play is actually one of nature’s well-designed programs to ensure survival of the species. It can transform kids into the best versions of themselves in seconds. And according to the research, playful parents experience lower stress with their kids - mainly because kids are calmer, more cooperative and focused more of the time.
New studies are clear - it’s critically important what we put into quality time with our kids that gives children a long-term advantage as confident, competent, creative thinkers who are better prepared to step up to life’s curveballs. In this uniquely FREE blog series full of practical tips and engaging videos, I’ll show you the skills to leverage time together to teach children better emotional regulation and resilience - calm in the storm, able to observe and describe their emotions, try on flexible perspectives, act on their own initiative, and experiment with new solutions until the problem is solved.
You’ll also learn why society needs protective play to be our first line of defense against stressful, and even potentially traumatic, childhood experiences. Especially in times like these. With a few simple strategies up your sleeve, you will learn to parent confidently and wholeheartedly in ways that will boost development, ease behavior struggles, build resilience, and really impress the kids you care for!
Join the movement to parent well and Play Strong!
Learn PlayStrong Strategy #1 Think Out Loud >>
