The fourth day of my lockdown as my wife is pregnant so I had to find things to do, to entertain the family especially my daughter! What do I have planned for the coming days, weeks or months?

First of all, I will recommend two rules and in my opinion, if you follow these rules, trust me they will help you throughout the lockdown or social distancing! But, first, before stating any rules, I will share with you on how to make the best out of your lockdown.

Recently the government of Malta issued a notice to all elderly, pregnant women and other people who are weaker due to other illnesses etc. Obviously, in order to get rid of this virus and to protect my family I had to make it my duty that they are safe from any harm, I made sure to listen to the statements of the government and isolated myself also to keep the virus from spreading. When I heard about this I had to do some research and see what I can do to keep our family entertained. Reading throughout the internet I have learnt on how to mostly bond with my child and also my pregnant wife, so here goes and please share any other activities you and your family are doing during this period 😉

Make a Fun Schedule:

At the moment I am working from home, so it’s my job also not to get bored myself, so what I did is develop a sort of schedule with my wife and see how we can make the best out of this situation and pinpoint all the important routines we need to go through, learning activities for Sophia, self-care and chores were the whole family can take part in. It is important the schedule you create is not a strict schedule, but more of an idea on how to plan your day! I am working from home for instance so I am mostly unavailable for 8 hours, but I tend to split my time and have short breaks with my family to change the atmosphere and be around my daughter to hear her giggle!

Chores are fun, aren’t they?

As I mentioned, chores are a great way to pass time, educate your child and also clean the house in certain areas were in our busy life we don’t have time for. So how can a toddler help? Easy, shes at a phase were she mimics everything you do, so grab a cloth and tell her to copy you and trust me they will! Washing the plates? Grab a chair and show clean the plates together, yes it will take longer, but trust me its an experience for them! If you want to have some atmosphere around the house switch on some music and dance away your daily chores away with the help of your little one!

My daughter is bored, what to do?

Do not feel that every time you have indoors you need to spend with your children, for them being bored sometimes is good as it triggers creative emotions and makes them think to do something to occupy their time, so let them wander around and give some safe kitchen utensils or give some pencils and a paper to scribble on, they will occupy their time. Also being in isolation sometimes may be stressful but the more you think about it the more you will tend to be negative about it so if you miss your parents, no need to visit them, just video-call them, I am sure they will appreciate it as well as your children to see nannu and nanna 🙂

Exercise? Why not!

Being stuck inside may limit your exercise routine, true! But, I have a solution for that, go on YouTube and search for family exercises (I know you’re lazy so I searched for it myself for you 😉 Click here) Or else, you can play hide and seek, indoor football (Apologize to your wife after) or just try to catch your child with a simple game called Catch haha!

Screen Time, come on they deserve it 😎

Last, but not least being stuck at home for your children can eventually be boring so you can lighten up their mood and be a bit more understanding and give them more screentime, as this can entertain them for a few minutes until you and your partner can clear up, cook or just unwind with a nice cup of tea!

My advice is to stay safe, obey the government’s notices and do not be selfish think about others and also your children, be a role model and teach them on how to be civilised and think about other by staying inside and being safe!

Oh Yeah, the two golden rules as I forget haha, Stay Inside to stop spreading the virus and Stay Positive as this is your best way to get through this period!

Do you have any activities you would like to share? Post them in the comments below and share your ideas with other parents!