Written by: Jen Cox - AdvDip NAT + WHM. @keeperandkin

Get the tribe involved.

Set up skype / house party / whatsapp / zoom chats for them and let your family and friends take the heat off. Chess with Grandpa twice a week, creative writing with your bestie on Mondays or a Thursday night Quiz on a topic they love (eg. Goosebumps books / Doctor Who / Pokemon) will nurture the connections we all crave. It also gives some structure to their day.

Go nuts with the chalk.

Draw hopscotch on the path outside your house. Let them draw a rainbow on the fence. Maybe they want to write a message to a friend who walks by each day. Wherever the creativity flows, they’re outside and it’s washable so the mess is not a stress factor.

Don’t buy into the idea that parents have it together right now.

Pinterest lies, nobody has a handle on dealing with this at home. Our kids are all adorable when asleep and 10/10 annoying if awake. For those of us working from home, it feels like we’re not giving our children enough attention. We’re struggling with homeschool and feel guilty about it. The kids all have cabin fever and we do too. It’s ok, this is not forever. You don’t have to be perfect.

Teach them how to make smoothies.

So they can make you one. Also, it’s healthy

Make them do kids' mediations.

Stress is not just for grown ups, our kids need to process this too. Cosmic Yoga, Short youtube meditations or even journaling can help.

Make them do PE with Joe.

It’s free on facebook and youtube and you will feel good about keeping them active. He also mentions the huge number of other kids that participate in the class, which helps our tribe feel connected.

Get them a pen pal.

Make sure it’s one of your good mates whose kids you would like to force a friendship with. They can write to each other (kids love receiving letters) and you and your bestie will feel confident that the seed has been planted for your long term personal life goals.

Really go hard on the chore thing.

I saw one supermum who set up a ‘shop’ of snacks + stickers and other stuff kids like. There were prices on everything in monopoly dollars. Different jobs earnt them different amounts of monopoly money so no real cash changed hands - genius.

Select a few educational TV shows you are happy for them to watch.

While I did learn a lot about humanity from Tiger King (yikes!) more kid friendly options are probably more in the David Attenborough / National Geographic zone.

Get outside for a big family walk each day.

Outdoor exercise is A-OK still and getting their little legs as tired as possible is your mental health priority. If your kids are competitive, timing them racing their scooters, bikes or feet is a fun way of someone ending up in angry tears too.