Staying in your house for days together can be quite a task. But it gets harder when you’re with a child. With restless energy and yearn to run around and play with peers, it can definitely get daunting to be at home for long durations, courtesy the COVID-19 lockdown. So for all of us wondering how you can keep our kids busy and yet create a wonderful learning environment at home, here are some ways to engage the kids during this lockdown.

1. Encourage them to cultivate a new hobby 

The next time your child complains of utter boredom, encourage your little one to nurture a new hobby. Hobbies play a very important role in diminishing unavoidable stress, as they provide an outlet for creativity. Painting, dancing, cooking, reading, or playing indoor games, can be some of the hobbies you can help them to take up. Each hobby comes with its own creativity, and your child will have something to look forward to each day. So help your kids develop those hobbies and tap that inner passion during this lockdown period.

2. Involve them in Household Chores

 ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’, your child might have learned this phrase, but it's important that they implement this in practice, and that can happen by involving them in household chores. After all, if they learn from a young age, that no work is big or small, they will turn up to be more empathetic individuals. Whether you have a son or a daughter, encourage your child to help you do little chores, like cleaning their room, dusting the shelves or folding clothes, these are important skills that will help them become organized and disciplined individuals.

3.  Life Skills is the way to go

Home is a great learning space. And you can teach your kids life skills that will nurture their independence and self-sufficiency. So depending on your children’s age, teach them to fix a light bulb or stitch a button, introduce them to concepts of banking, taxes, and insurance, keep them abreast with current affairs and encourage them to help you in the kitchen. This will help them go a long way.

4.Stay in touch with peers through technology

One of the best ways to engage with your kids during this lockdown period is to make them stay in touch with their peers through technology. You can plan fun activities over a video call with their peers. Coordinate with parents of their peers, so they can do activities together over video calls. They can work on quizzes, play DIY games or read stories together. Talking to their friends and connecting with them during this quarantine time can make your kids feel that they are all in the same boat.

4.Spend quality time with family

As parents, you might often find yourself juggling work and family. The lockdown is a blessing in disguise. This is your chance to bond with your children and spend quality family time together. So do make the most of it, as your kids miss you when you are busy with your respective schedules. Watch family movies, play board games, paint, cook, make the most of every moment. After all, this is a chance to make a lifetime of memories within the four walls of your home.

So these are some of the best ways you can engage your kids during this lockdown period. Create an open, creative and learning atmosphere for your children at home. Make the atmosphere conducive. Teach them life skills, build their emotional quotient and develop their personality, so they can become strong, empathetic and self-sufficient individuals in the society and while you are doing so for your kids, ensure that you and your family stay at home and stay safe.

By Mrs. Sheetal Dave