Tips For Coping With Lockdown

Lockdowns are hard! How are you coping?

We have all been here before and we know we can learn from previous experience and from each other so we decided to reach out to our amazing The Sleep Store community to find out how they have been coping with this latest lockdown, and also what they have learnt from previous lockdowns to help make life a bit easier for their families this time around.

Read all the suggestions and tips below.

Delicious kids lunchbox filled with food.

Getting up early for some quiet time (yoga and coffee) before the kids wake up is a great way to start the day in a better mindset.

Make a lunchbox for your little ones, so you don’t have to worry about getting lunch and snacks together throughout the day.

Planning lunch and dinner in advance.

Have a predictable routine / make a plan. Kids like routine – get up, get dressed, same meal and snack times – just like if the little ones were at childcare or school.

Be gentle on yourself. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Get outside every day. A walk, a bike ride, coffee in the garden, running around chasing bubbles in the backyard – whatever it is make it a daily occurrence. Fresh air is your friend.

Keep the kids well fed….no one wants hangry kids in lockdown.

Movies and TV are OK. #Balance

Chocolate is essential!

Don’t stress too much about the schoolwork. Try to make it fun, especially with little ones make as many tasks as possible into games.

If all else fails, add water. A bath, a bucket of water and brush to paint the fence, a watering can. Water fixes everything.

Dad out for a walk with toddler in the stroller.

Have a drink bottle each for the kids, because getting kids cups of water all the time all day gets old fast.

Compulsory house rule that everyone needs to do something outside or active everyday, which is especially important if you have older kids that are happy to just lounge around inside.

Try to do something productive each day – even if it is just making the bed, doing the dishes or even cleaning out a draw, sorting the pantry.

Try doing something creative or having a project for YOU to slowly work on – puzzles, knitting, sewing etc.

Have a 30 min rule, where you and your partner get 30 mins a day where you can do whatever you like – go for a walk alone, read a book, have a nap, sit in a room alone without the kids.

Reuse the same activities – just in a different spot. Move the water play from the deck to the carport or the playdough from inside to outside

Have a task a week to focus on such as getting the kids to arrange their toys in their room in a new way, or going through and sorting out books.

Join a Facebook Page our Group which give you good ideas for new activities for toddlers.

Enjoy the time with the kids and appreciate life at a slower pace not having to rush out the door or have other distractions.

Remember to take it easy on yourself. If you need help, please reach out to a friend, a community member or any of our wonderful free Facebook support groups and we will be more than happy to help. We are all doing our bit to help keep our country covid-free and if you don't do anything else just know that staying home and doing nothing is enough!

Our free support groups and social pages are linked below for more help and advice from our trained experts and other parents like you in our Sleep Store community.

Take care x