How to survive quarantine with a child and not go crazy: 25 interesting ideas and useful tips

We have collected advice from psychologists and teachers for those who are afraid of the prospect of spending a long time alone with their own children. Calm down, it's not so scary.

What's happening?

Due to the coronavirus epidemic, schools and kindergartens are organizing unscheduled vacations, students are transferred to distance learning. Residents of cities are prohibited from leaving their homes, a self-isolation regime has been introduced. You can go outside only if absolutely necessary. Many parents experience great stress in this regard: combining remote work with the care, education and entertainment of even one child, let alone several, is very difficult. Panic is a bad idea, it is better to think over a plan of action and follow it.

If your child is 3 to 5 years old

Children, especially small ones, read well the emotional state of their parents and easily become infected with it. Try not to perceive the current situation as punishment or torture, use it as an opportunity to spend time together. The most important thing for preschoolers is the active participation of the parent, who can enrich any activity with his comments, stories and emotional involvement in interacting with the baby.

• Play role-playing and construction-constructive games. Children of middle preschool age are very fond of plot activities, where they try on various roles. The simplest option is the traditional “Daughters-Mothers”, which can be modernized with the help of fashionable dolls and toy cars. From the floor construction set, play the scenes: "Road", "Farm", "Princess Castle".
• Come up with funny quatrains. At this age, children show a special love for rhythm and rhymes. Repetition of syllables is suitable for funny rhyming. For example: “Na-na-na - spring is in the yard. Well, well, well, we were looking forward to spring. Re-re-re - make nests in the yard. " The parent can suggest syllables, and the child can compose a continuation to them, then switch places. Come up with lines on a specific topic or in a mix.
• Create your own book of fairy tales. Five-year-olds are fascinated by the idea of ​​creating a book of fairy tales, adventures and funny stories. Family photographs, pencil drawings, gouache or watercolors, or colored paper appliqués are suitable as illustrations.
• Make your own home theater and stage a show. A finger theater can be created from “fingers” cut off from gloves - you probably have lonely gloves left after the winter season. Sew on buttons or glue on beads, name the characters, and discuss the storyline. Shadow theater is easy to make by cutting out the silhouettes of the characters from cardboard and pointing the lamp at the wall or sheet. For a puppet show, wear black clothes and your favorite stuffed animals.
• Arrange a vegetable garden on the windowsill. Children are very interested in observing onions, beans or peas, because they quickly sprout green sprouts. If space on the windowsill allows, arrange the containers from under the yogurt or pots for seedlings in the form of a train, build a fence from the designer, put a rag stuffed animal, like in a real garden.
• Play with words. Ask your child to look for objects or phenomena in the environment that start with the letter "c" (for example, a table). Whoever named it first chooses the next condition.
• Watch family movies and cartoons together. The main value of such film screenings is the opportunity to gain a joint emotional experience of empathizing with the characters, discuss what they have seen and, thanks to this, learn something new.

If your child is between 6 and 8 years old

At this age, the main thing is play. But during the working day it is impossible to devote all the time to children. So try to put any other activity into play.

• Get a "magic bag". Draw or write activities with your child. Put the pieces of paper in a bag and take it out at the right time to decide what to do: you can bake a pie or cook soup, wash and hang things, vacuum, disassemble grandmother's box together or sort old ones by albums photos.
• Allow time for free play. Initiate the game, start it together, and then leave the child to himself, explaining that you are busy with specific tasks. It is important to indicate that after a while you will be back. Then update the plot of the game, throw in some idea, organize leisure activities and again give the child the opportunity to work out on his own. After that, be sure to discuss what each of you did and why it brings you joy.
• Ask your child to look for objects of a certain color in the environment and take pictures of them. Agree how much time will be allotted for the task. In this game, the winner is the one with the most pictures! You can also use the photo to compose "rainbow" compositions and make a palette of colors for your home.
• Play Samodelkin. Invite the children to carve geometric shapes from the newspapers and magazines they have read, choose a topic, and have a competition. For example, if the topic is "Robots", then mom makes a robot from circles, dad - from squares, children - from triangles. Each craft can be given a name.
• Give an opportunity to show independence. At this age, children are able to do a lot without the help of their parents. For example, cooking simple meals, looking for information and making presentations, caring for pets. Examples of healthy separation can be seen in the new animated series “Prostokvashino”- episodes are just focused on the formation of independence and responsibility for their actions.
• Conduct a science experiment. There are hundreds of detailed descriptions on the web experiencesthat will be of interest to children. But it will be especially helpful to show them why it is so important to wash their hands with soap. For the experiment, you will need a deep bowl, water, soapy water, and ground pepper. Pour water and pepper into a bowl. Then ask the child to put a finger in there - particles of seasoning will remain on it. Now ask to first dip your finger into a soapy solution and only then into a plate of pepper - the peppercorns "scatter" around the edges of the dishes. Explain what soapShow Me the Science - How to Wash Your Hands does not kill germs and bacteria, but weakens the bond with the skin surface to make them easier to wash off.

If your child is between 8 and 12 years old

Do not worry if you and your child do not have time to complete the entire scope of the school curriculum. First, distance learning is a forced measure that neither teachers nor parents were ready for. And secondly, it is not necessary to acquire knowledge only from textbooks and workbooks. To spend your quarantine time productively and without frustration, try to create a daily routine together and remember the importance of alternating between rest and study.

• Read books together. Choose an interesting story and read it one by one: one page - parent, one - child. Or arrange the text according to roles: the parent reads for the author and some of the characters, and the child reads for the favorite character. After - be sure to discuss the work and the actions of the characters.
• Take time to study. Remember that a parent's calm attitude to the situation directly affects how learning goes outside the school walls. Distribute the forces so that the child can perceive information at a comfortable pace for himself, work independently, but at the same time have the opportunity to seek help from parents if necessary.
• Find something to laugh at. Do not forget that not only you, but also your child lives in the disturbing information field. And laughter helps Anticipating A Laugh Reduces Our Stress Hormones, Study Shows to handle the stress. Although teenage jokes are different from adults, you can always find common ground. For example, in the animated series “The Adventures of Petit and the Wolf", Which was created especially for teenagers, a lot of topical humor. Watching it will be equally funny for both adults and children.
• Play home classics. Trace the outlines of the arms and legs on the cardboard, cut out, mix, lay out on the floor like classics and move around the room.
• Come up with an encrypted alphabet. Write down all the letters of your native language, and for each of them, invent and write down the symbols that form the new alphabet. You will communicate in this language for the next week. You can also exchange classified messages in messengers, for example, in correspondence with a friend or an advanced grandmother. To do this, you just need to take a picture and send the "encryption" to the interlocutor.
• Design a photo book or travel book. It's time to focus on something pleasant, for example, remembering your impressions from a recent trip and creating a special book dedicated to it. You can glue tickets, receipts, memorabilia and photographs there. Don't forget to sign important details or add fun travel stories to the album.

Tips for parents of children of all ages

• Keep calm.
• Take time for your own business - no one will do the job for you.
• Set aside private time for each family member. Both children and adults need this.
• Involving children in helping around the house will help them feel important and free your hands a little.
• Recognize that conflict is inevitable in a confined space, so learn how to fight properly. And remember that being right is not as important as feeling that you have been listened to with respect.
• Spend time together. Not buried in the phone, but really talking to each other or doing what everyone likes. This will help strengthen the relationship. Play board games, be creative or play sports, watch movies and cartoons.