Survive in Isolation by Making Reality the Priority and Breaking Up the Childcare Duties

By making reality the priority, families can set realistic expectations that will help maintain everyone's sanity while in COVID-19 quarantine.

TRANSCRIPT
In this first episode we're going to talk about the new reality the coronavirus pandemic has put us in as parents and where to start to get some sanity back. Schools are closed. Restaurants are closed. Even the playgrounds are closed. So what are we supposed to do with our kids while they're dancing around us all day? This is especially tricky if you are still working full time, have a suspended or lost income, or are caring for anyone who is sick.Throw in your child's boredom, lack of social opportunities, and constant need to cook and clean- and you've got yourself the perfect storm. Unfortunately we don't know how long this new reality will last so many of us need to readjust a few things to make it work for the long haul.New variables to consider are navigating e-learning, lack of social exposure because you cant see family or friends, does screen time need a limit, is it actually detrimental or is it the perfect quarantine tool? We'll dig into all of these and more in upcoming episodes. For today, I want the big take away to be that the most important thing you can do for your family is to make reality the priority. Reality is the actual way things exist as opposed to an idealistic notion of them. We must accept that our new situation is a new reality and tweak our daily expectations to accommodate for this.Readjusting your expectations is a mindset shift, and it will set the stage for success and ultimately less chaos in your home.Start by considering what is not realistic

It is not realistic to expect to do your job the same way
It is not realistic to expect your kids to adapt to this new isolated life style quickly
It is not realistic to think the distractions will go away

By making reality the priority, this is what is realistic right now
It is realistic to accept that your child needs you right now
It is realistic to make your job a priority because you need an income to live
It is realistic to accept that you need to purposefully plan your day to accomplish all the things that have fallen in your lap
It is realistic to expect hard moments
It is realistic to expect beautiful moments that otherwise wouldn't happen if you were at work and your child at school.

Alright before I lose you here, I'm going to end this episode with an actionable quick tip.Make reality the priority. Once you've accepted this new normal and reevaluated your expectations you will notice the chaos in your family start to dissipate.Your kids will start to seem happy that they aren't expected to adjust at an impossibly quick rate. Your job will seem more doable because you've outline realistic goals. Your marriage or partnership will get more in sync as you gravitate towards the same expectations. The expectations that are logical of your new reality.

Once you've made realistic expectations of what your family needs right now, you can distribute the childcare responsibility. A quick way to do this is to Sit down with all the adults in your home, parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles even older siblings  and decide who is going to be responsible for the childcare at various times in the day.Split up the day into hour chunks or even half hour and decide who is responsible for the kids during that time. Whoever is not responsible has complete freedom to do whatever they want. If they need to work, or take a shower, or a quick nap. Whatever it is take that time.If there are any gaps this is where you can use screen time and e-learning as a parenting tool as well. It's important to note that this will look very different for every family but by assigning the childcare responsibilities, it allows for less chaos throughout the day.