If you’re a parent who’s struggling to navigate this pandemic, much less help your child navigate it, you’re not alone. Millions of households in the United States are dealing with the same challenges — postponed/canceled activities, social distancing, and vague expectations of the upcoming school year among them. Nonetheless, if you are willing to make adjustments and take proactive steps, you can prepare your child (and yourself) for life during the pandemic. Here are some tips and resources to help you along the way.
Practice Self-Care
To lead your child in these uncertain times, take care of your own body, mind, and soul.
- Try to maintain healthy eating habits. You can learn more about rebooting your healthy eating habits by checking out this Have More Babies article.
- Find an exercise routine you don’t hate, and do it at least five days a week.
- Make sure you are getting seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
- Make time for relaxing activities, whether it’s reading a book, taking a warm bath, or watching your favorite TV show at night.
Regularly Clean Your Home
Having a clean home will help minimize stress and keep your family safe.
- Prioritize cleanliness in your home by regularly decluttering and cleaning.
- If you can budget for it, hire a cleaning service to deep clean your home — either on a one-time or recurring basis.
- Make sure everyone in your household understands and is abiding by the CDC guidelines for protecting yourself from coronavirus.
- Anytime the opportunity arises, stock up on hand sanitizer and other cleaning products.
Start the School Routine Early
Then there’s school; you may not know exactly what your child will be doing this upcoming school year, but you can prepare the best you can.
- Contact the school to see if your child’s teachers can give you their curriculum; this will help you prepare your child for some of the topics they can expect.
- Make sure your child is transitioning into a sleep schedule similar to the one they will be practicing during the school year.
- Create an awesome homework station for your child.
- Practice navigating online courses with your child.
For years to come, the year 2020 will be talked about for its relentless disruption of everyday routines around the world. In the meantime, you can help your household thrive now and in the future. Remember to practice self-care on the reg, and make cleanliness a priority in your home. Finally, take any necessary steps to help your child ease into the upcoming school year.
This guest post was written by Jenna Sherman, a mom of three (two girls and a boy). She created parent-leaders.com as an avenue for parents who want to make sure their children grow up to be strong, independent, successful adults. By providing a collection of valuable, up-to-date, authoritative resources, she hopes to help other parents acquire the skills they need to raise future leaders.
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