Social distancing? Creating new routines can help
COVID-19 messed up our daily work routine, at home and at school. This is difficult for children, teenagers and also for you. Creating new routines can help.
Create a firm but flexible daily routine
- Set up a schedule for you and your kids with time for planned activities and also free time. This can help children feel safer and behave better.
- Children or adolescents can help plan the routine of the day – how to make a school timesheet.
- They'll follow this better if they help them do it.
Teach children how to keep safe distances
- If everything is OK in your nation, take the kids for some time away from home.
- You can also write letters and make drawings to share with people. Expose them outside the house for others to see!
- You can reassure your children by talking to them about how you are keeping them safe. Listen to their suggestions and take them seriously.
Try to make cleaning and washing your hands fun
- Create a 20-second song for the moment of washing your hands. Give the children points and praise their effort by washing their hands regularly.
- Invent a game to see who can touch the face less often (you can score for each other).
You are a model of behavior for your children
If you continue to keep safe distances and sanitize yourself, and treat others with compassion, especially those who are sick or at risk – your children and adolescents will learn from you.
At the end of each day, take the time to reflect on the day that has passed. Tell your kids something good or funny they did.
Celebrate everything you've done well today. You're TOP!
This material was developed by Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) and is available in 46 languages and 32 languages in the process of translation.
Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) is a set of free programs for parents who use the principles of social learning and parent management training to improve the relationship between parents and children. The programs equip parents with skills to generate them in a positive way and develop healthy relationships with their children.