Lockdown with Little Ones
We asked All Mums Talk blogger Aly Vy how she's handling the January 2021 lockdown with three little ones!
It's been a tough time for many due to the year long struggle across the globe with Covid-19, but with the latest lockdown in the United Kingdom, many families are having to keep their families entertained, stimulated and positive.
We asked Aly Vy, blogger of 'All Mums Talk' and mum of 3, for her TOP 5 tips on how to keep little ones entertained throughout this difficult period...
Lots of snacks! They call me the snacking Queen because I’ve learnt my lesson after I had my first and I’m now always having lots of snacks ready for them. Healthy snacks are most often the solution to tantrums, when running out of ideas for crafts, great to stop or postpone siblings quarrels and even helping with homeschooling. Great bribing tools, too!
Lots of outdoors time - it’s so important to keep our kids connected to nature, they get to spend lots of their energy cycling or running around the village or woods area. It makes bedtime much easier and it helps with less screening time which has become THE one challenge since the first lockdown.
Make homeschooling fun - this is a tricky one as we all have kids at different stages - what works for me is that when it all gets a bit too much, we stop or take a break and do something they love, like a puzzle or a walk to the playground, we bake a lot etc.
Listen to the kids - they miss their friends, their teacher, & they don’t get to see our extended family, so it’s tough on them too; no matter how healthy is the routine I want to create for them, it won’t be enough unless I listen to their actual wishes, no matter how crazy I find them sometimes :) Wishes which sometimes are a bit over the top - like roasting marshmallows on a Wednesday or a very messy craft at 8pm or a slime bath, gosh, Im really not a fan of this, but it shows them I do listen and I can be a fun mum, too :)
Be kind to yourself - there are days when everything is a bit too much so then it’s ok if you break your routine and go for a long walk away from the kids, away from work, all the house cleaning etc I find myself a much more relaxed person able to cope with the mad multitasking of a mother of 3 after being alone with my thoughts even for a little while :)