Most children right now are bored out of their minds. The pandemic has cornered most children inside their homes for the better part of 2020, and unfortunately, for most of 2021 as well. While the virus can cause a milder set of symptoms for children, it makes them the perfect carrier of the disease. Because children are often asymptomatic, there is no way of telling whether they have it or not. What’s worse is that they can easily transmit the disease to the elderly—the most vulnerable sector of society. There are thousands of news reports about young adults intentionally partying and going out as if the virus was not in play. Unfortunately for their housemates who have comorbidities or are vulnerable due to age, warnings may come too late.
Most of the children are forced to go to online school at home in the meantime. More students right now are attending online school because of the virus. If classes are not canceled, some form of alternative learning is implemented depending on the school. Only a few households reported that there is no change in the schedule of their children despite the pandemic.
Children, now more than ever, have more free time and energy to do what children do best. While it is a bit concerning (and a bit tiring) for adults to keep up, adults have to adjust and compromise as well as to not impede their social growth. Most children are in a stage that they are still learning how to interact with strangers and their peers. If they can get positive energy within their own homes, their growth forward will be maintained.
What are the fun activities you can do with your child in the safety of your own home? What activities can help them grow further even while inside the home?
Art Projects
Engaging your children in art projects is a great way to jump-start a new interest while still promoting learning. Children are always curious and are intent on funneling their inner creativity. Art projects are tasks that, even in school, are very limited and not often explored. Projects involving various colors, and raw materials with different textures and different mediums, can help activate and develop the part of their brain that is associated with creativity and critical thinking.
Aside from these positives, this sort of activity will also be fun and engaging for the adult. Stimulate their creativity by buying simple art materials such as cardstock, coloring materials, scissors, and the like. Giving them the freedom to do whatever they wish to do with these materials will be motivating for them to engage in the task more.
Exercise
This is often overlooked at home. While it is mandated at school, exercise is rarely practiced at home. Because parents are sometimes too tired to engage in physical activity with their children, most forego this activity to something else. However, due to the pandemic, there is no more excuse to put off exercising with your children. Since most parents are now working from home, it is now the perfect opportunity to exercise with the young ones. Exercise is beneficial to both adults and children alike because it helps prevent health problems in the future.
Making time for exercise is also a great way to bond with your children as physical activities are great ways to connect and communicate with each other. Exercise does not have to be limited to gym-type of exercises. You can also engage in sports that are safe to practice while inside the safety of your yard. Hide and seek, running-tag and playing catch are some of the few activities or exercises you can do that is fun and engaging for children.
Basic Coding
Immersing with the children in a basic coding class is one of the few ways you can also keep up with the times. The digitalization of the world around us is inevitable. As we progress more and more as a society, it becomes more apparent that the internet is becoming one of the fundamental aspects of living in modern society. Introducing your children, as well as yourself, to basic coding classes (which can be found anywhere online) is a good way to familiarize them with the nature of the current world.
Also, programming involves a lot of logic and critical thinking. It is a pathway to many career branches that they can explore in the future eventually if they catch any interest in it. By taking up a basic coding course, you can also get yourself a side job whilst learning alongside your child.
Children around the world right now are at a stage where you cannot hinder their development for a chance at a normal life. They will not be children forever. Take the lockdown restrictions at home as a way to bond and develop an activity with your child. They will thank you for it in the future.
