Balancing Quarantined Life with Single or Solo Parenting

We are experiencing unprecedented times. We are learning about the new phenomenon of ‘social distancing’ and for many people they are facing isolation due to health concerns or government regulations. For divorced primary carer parents, the social restrictions make it incredibly hard and an already unrelenting task of parenting even more intense without any relief. Rachael Scharrer, Life Change Counsellor and Separation Strategist at Divorce Answered, shares some tips for balancing quarantined life with single or solo parenting.

TIPS TO HELP YOUR CHILD THROUGHOUT THE DAY:

Create routine and structure. Children and adults alike thrive on structure and routine. It creates a purpose for the day and helps the time pass-by with a little more ease. Depending on the age of your children, two suggestions to assist you include planning your day the night before so that you can remain one-step-ahead of your children and setting alarms on your phone for the start of the day, recess, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. For bigger little kids, you might like to display the schedule on the fridge or in a place of prominence. Whatever your chosen method, a structure and routine can help to starve the loneliness and pass the day in a more enjoyable way.

Reading at home. Amazon is making a parent’s life a little easier with free stories to stream using your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet. There are a range of books separated into categories for Littlest Listeners, Elementary, Tween, Teen, Classics and Folk and Fairy Tales as well as books in a range of different languages. To start, click here.

Exercise at home. Moving will help you to burn energy and help you sleep. There are lots of great ways that you can squeeze in some movement regardless of whether you are stuck at home in a tiny apartment or outside in nature.

Create an obstacle course and time each other completing it. For children of different ages, you may need a time advantage for younger children
Go online for free or affordable exercise, yoga, PT or PE sessions. One helpful link which has daily PE classes for children is The Body Coach. For more info, click here.
Research and explore the local parks, reserves, walking (or cycling) trails and National Parks in your area. You may be amazed to learn there is more in your area than you realised!
Jump in puddles and play in the rain on a wet day. We aren’t allergic to the rain. When your children are driving you crazy, getting rained upon isn’t the worst thing to have happen – and then they can have a bath or shower to warm-up and clean-up which will help to pass a little more time.

Get your kids coding. For the tech interested children, Code Camp World is offering free online courses. For more info, click here.

Make meals fun. Quarantine is a great time for building life lessons. Depending on your child’s age, you might like to set them a task to cook one dinner a week for the household. There is a lot to learn from researching the recipe, ensuring the right ingredients are available and appreciating the time and effort that goes into preparing a meal. For the younger children, you can have fun creating an interesting plate for your child. You could start by exploring different shapes in the way that you cut the vegetables, making a rainbow of coloured food, creating funny faces with food on the plate and so much more!

Create space for imagination. Children need time to push through boredom and access their imagination and creativity. You can set different challenges every day for your children to entertain themselves with, say, some old clothes, empty cartons and boxes, sticks or dough (play dough, flour dough or clay) and see how they choose to use it and what they can create with the items.

Maintain a good sleep routine. Just because the children aren’t going to school, it doesn’t mean that they can stay up all night – because then you will have to manage over-tired little humans the next day. Remember to limit the screen time and dim the lights 1-2 hours before bed and incorporate some quiet reading time. For more info, click here.

FOR THE PARENTS:

Juggling the needs of the children and home as well as your own needs can be incredibly difficult or stressful. As a working parent, you may be needing to squeeze in some work into the small cervices of the day when your children are occupied.

Choose your perspective. Be conscious with choosing your attitude and how you view your situation and challenges while in quarantine. Your children will follow your lead when it comes to how they perceive being stuck at home. Instead of being frustrated and angry with how limiting the walls of your home may be, see it as an opportunity to bond, connect and learn more about each other.

Be mindful of your emotional regulation. During times of stress and anxiety, you may be more likely to get upset or angry with those closest to you – often those that you are stuck at home with. Try to be mindful of what you say and how you react. Regularly meditating, focusing on your breath and carving a little time-out for you can help your emotional regulation.

There is a plethora of information and resources available to help during this challenging time. Living in quarantine, while it is challenging, can be a wonderful opportunity to live a little differently and create some awesome memories with your family.

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