Coronavirus: How to Stay Sane and Keep Your Kids Safe & Healthy

Staying in all day, every day is certainly the best way to mitigate the risk and spread of COVID-19. However, it is undoubtedly crazy-making when you have kids at home. Suddenly you’re expected to work from home, homeschool your children, and not lose your mind in the process.

In these stressful times, it’s important to remember that you can’t pour from an empty cup. While you’re protecting your kids and keeping them entertained, make sure to practice self-care. In this article, we’ll go over some ways you can keep your kids safe and healthy while also taking care of your own mental health.

Get Them Off the Couch

A Stay at Home Order can feel like a moratorium on all movements. It’s far too easy to fall into the habit of staying on the couch with Disney Plus on the TV. After all, if your kids are entertained, you can get some work done in peace. Unfortunately, a sedentary lifestyle is directly linked to a number of health problems including diabetes and coronary heart disease.

Sitting still can also exacerbate underlying feelings of depression and anxiety. The last thing you want to do is let your kids veg out all day! Instead, find ways to get them moving. There is evidence that movement can help kids stay positive, curious, and focused when learning. Exercise can help your kids retain the information they learn, as well! Not only that but keeping your kids active will help boost their immune system, keeping them healthy.

If you have a backyard, suggest a round of capture the flag or tag. If your children are limited to indoor exercise, there are a number of online Yoga classes for kids available.

Up Their Vitamin Game

Because your kids will be spending more time at home, it’s up to you to make sure that they’re getting enough vitamins and minerals. Vitamin d, vitamin c, vitamin b6 and b12, folic acid, vitamin e, and calcium are all vitamins that are important for the maintenance of a healthy immune system. However, if your kids are picky eaters, it’s hard to get them to ingest these vitamins in their normal, everyday diet.

To that end, consider introducing a daily vitamin to their regimen. Vitamins for kids too often feature artificial flavors and sugar. Instead of going with a vitamin right off the shelf, consider one created especially for kids by parents and health professionals who know what they need and what they like.

Keep Them Curious

An easy way to keep your stress levels down and your kids entertained? Take a trip to a museum, from the comfort of your own home. Museums around the world, as well as zoos and theatres, have come together to make the quarantine just a little easier for kids and their parents. Now you can visit the Guggenheim and the Louvre without ever leaving home, keeping you and your little ones entertained with a quiet, enriching activity.

You Can’t Pour From an Empty Cup

As much as you try to keep your anxieties from flowing over into your interactions with your children, in this time of high-stress and uncertainty, it’s impossible to avoid altogether. That’s why it’s important to recognize that you have needs too. Make sure to carve some time out of every day for yourself. This could be a moment in the day to meditate. Perhaps you should take long baths more frequently. Or, maybe it’s time to meet with a therapist online.

There’s nothing wrong with admitting that you need some support. After all, we are all facing unprecedented circumstances. Bringing in a little outside assistance to help you navigate these new waters is not only useful but admirable. Finding a therapist is as easy as searching “teletherapy in Baltimore,” for example. Your ideal therapist will be able to meet with you over video chat weekly to discuss your stresses, challenges, and specific needs. These sessions will prove invaluable to you as you learn to live with this new normal.

You’re an amazing parent, that’s obvious. But even Wonder Woman and Super Man need help from time to time. Keeping your kids safe and healthy requires the perfect combination of nutrition, patience, and entertainment. But before you’re able to be there for your kids you should first take care of yourself.