Following UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to place England in a third lockdown, working parents are under increasing pressure on how to find ways to educate and occupy their children. There have been an increasing number of cases of a new variant of Coronavirus recently occurring in the UK and this is starting to put the health service under increasing pressure.
Anyone who displays symptoms of Coronavirus is supposed to go in to a period of self isolation until their symptoms ease and they are no longer a risk of passing the infection on to the rest of the population. The virus is passed on through social contact so many new, tougher regulations have been put in place to ensure that there is as small a risk as possible of the infection spreading through out the country.
As part of this third national lockdown, schools have been closed which means children have to stay at home and be home schooled by their parents. This can put them under increasing pressure as some will be able to carry out work tasks from home so will be busy conducting important roles to ensure the financial situation remains strong and they can continue to manage in every day society. This includes being able to afford every day services and products.
For the next few months, parents face the hardiest task of working from home whilst home schooling their children.
“Our hearts literally sank when the Prime Minister said those words “schools are to close” because we remember what is was like last time – seriously tough times. Entertaining the kids whilst trying our best to keep working and the money coming in. Plus, last time the weather was nice, now it is awful”, explains Jonathan Ratcliffe from Office Provider Offices.co.uk
Working from home is tough. Home schooling is very tough. So, if you must combine the two for a long period of time, how are you going to cope?
“Home schooling is one of the hardest things we have done as parents. The expectation and the stress, and at the same time we are trying to hold down jobs – it’s a nightmare scenario”, explains Ratcliffe.
Here are some tips on how to survive lockdown with your children at home.
Start at a regular time each day to ensure that a routine is developed. This is important for good sleep and good mental health for both you and your kids. School should start at a set time so make sure you are both ready and stick to the timetable to keep to a system of routine.
Ensure that you are dressed properly as a teacher and a student. Getting showered and dressed is important to divide sleep and school. This also helps separate the day in to different sections which helps develop a good pattern of behaviour.
Create different spaces for certain activities. You might set up a teaching room (kitchen), quiet room (spare bedroom) and a play area (living room)
Ensure you organise and structure the day like a school day. This can include Teaching time, activity time, play time and lunch time – just like their normal school routine
Make a plan with your children at the start of each day as to what tasks will be completed and by when. This will help them feel more involved and build up their organisational skills.
Ensure all phones and electronic devices are turned off. Children won’t be able to feel involved if whilst carrying out tasks, you are continuously checking your e-mails etc.
Set aside breaks for TV, iPad and exercise. You can then use this time to check your work e-mails and do other related work to ensure your company or business runs smoothly.
Finish at a set time each day and make sure bed time is a fixed time each day so that the method of having a routine is kept. This helps build a good behavioural pattern for any future work that your children may do.
Don’t be tempted to hit the booze too much.
One good positive to come out of this is that many people will have done this before and they can do it again. Make sure you challenge yourself to ensure that everyone is kept fully involved.
