SELF-CARE: A life saver for those with a baby is taking turns during internal team conference calls to hold the baby. With everyone trying to work from home it often feels like one person (usually moms) have to hold the little ones all day. Review your day in advance and find some time to trade off.
PARENTING TIP: When you need a child to do something like pick up a toy, put on shoes, or another small thing that is suddenly to a big battle, instead of just giving up and doing it for try these instead: “I’ll wait for you to be ready” (as you sit and stare) or “You can do it by yourself or I’ll help you” or “Do you need a hug first?” or “Do you need a minute first? Should we set a time for 1, 3, or 5 minutes?” As the child gets older (3.5+) you can experiment with also adding the strategy of just repeating the command in a really calm but no-nonsense kind of way. Amazingly once they get that you’re not giving up on it, and not even going to get angry about it, they often give up and complete the task!
INDOOR ACTIVITY: Find a way to step up using your special talents. To help her daughters teacher, Evelyn Nichols, one of our facilitators recently volunteered to host a zoom call twice a week to lead the class in games. It will helps parents keep their kids busy, the teacher lesson her prep load, and keeps my kids class connected. https://fdt-freebies.s3.amazonaws.com/Zoom+Activities.pdf
OUTDOOR ACTIVITY: Sitting outside your front door, write a story about what's going on with your child with who is walking by or vehicles passing by (where are they going, do they all have magical powers, what are their names, what they are saying, etc.). Weave a creative story that both of you can enjoy.