How to Deal With Isolation As a Family Using the Daily Family Survival Checklist

If the days are starting to blend and its getting harder to stay focused or there just seems to be constant conflict in your home since the COVID-19 quarantine has started, it might be time to assure your family's basic needs are being met. Use this checklist every day to set yourself up for less chaos by outsmarting your reptilian brain. See the checklist on instagram @familysanitypodcast

TRANSCRIPT
When our first son was 6 months old, we thought it would be fun to go camping. We got everything ready, an overly full cooler, a brand new baby friendly bike trailer, and even mosquito repellent tattoos. Yeah, We were prepared. Once we got to the campsite it started to drizzle but that didn’t bother us as much as the car ride in which we drowned in screaming because as we later realized our little camper was teething... Survival mode is not fun. Its stressful, its exhausting and it prevents you from doing absolutely anything else but surviving. 

Soon after having kids you quickly learn that survival mode is a normal part of parenting. Some days you just have to do what you have to do. Feed them whatever is in the freezer and ignore the amount of screen time going on. However, feeling this way for an extended amount of time, like you’re just hanging on for dear life for days on end is extremely lethal. 

I have felt this way 3 times in my life. The first time was during the newborn stage with my first child when sleep deprivation along with the colossal reality check that I’ve lost all freedom were making me crazy. Second was when we moved to a new country with no real plan and no support, like we didn’t even know where to go grocery shopping. And the third time is NOW in the COVID-19 quarantine. 

In each of these times there were stressors that affected our basic living needs. Consistent lack of sleep or fear of the unknown can affect your everyday life and cause your reptilian brain to take over. The reptilian brain is responsible for involuntary functions like breathing, the beating of your heart and function of your organs. This part of your brain also is in charge of fight or flight, and responses to danger and fear, all which are automatic responses that you don’t even really think about. This COVID-19 reality has put many of us parents in this mode all day every day. The fear of the unknown including how long this will last, any health concerns you have for yourself or family members, or worrying about your current and future financial stability. Most importantly worrying about your child’s wellbeing and how it will affect her future is activating your reptilian brains. In this state of being, your family life will inevitably be tense. It will yield arguing and probably lots of yelling. 

To deal with isolation while you are in survival mode, you need to outsmart your reptilian brain by confirming to yourself and your kids that everything you need is accounted for each day. Once you no longer feel subconsciously threatened, you will see how each family member will no longer act in extremes and the days will get calmer and more tolerable. So how do you confirm to yourself that everything you need to feel safe is accounted for?Let me introduce you to the Daily Family Survival Checklist. When I was in survival mode for an extended period of time, I realized I needed to have a plan for these 5 basic things every day or else our day would be chaotic. The 5 things are
1.Food, do you have the right ingredients and enough for everyone to eat 3 meals today?
2.A schedule or loose plan accounting for everyone’s needs including naps, academic time, chores, and professional tasks
3.When to go outside or a physical activity during inclement weather
4.When would kids be getting screen time
5.What social activity are we doing today such as a video call with grandma or intentional family dinner time
Getting from survival brain to today is going to be ok brain wil