Tips to Manage Your Kids During the Covid-19 Shutdown

Tips to manage your kids during the Covid-19 shutdown

By Tricia Escobedo, CNN

Families everywhere are staying at home to stem the spread of the coronavirus — and that’s presented a unique set of challenges.

Homes have been converted into oces and schools, backyards are now playgrounds, and many parents are having to balance working from home while helping manage their kids’ school day.

CNN has been covering the challenges facing students and parents during the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s a printable list summarizing what we’ve learned from experts to help you and your family during this challenging time:

Tips for parents of younger kids

Parents, do what you need to lower your stress levels, whether it is carving out alone time or exercise time, writes parenting author Elissa Strauss. She suggests you create some structure that you can realistically commit to on most days, and importantly, make sure you are enjoying some parts of your day.

Diversions such as card and board games are interactive ways to help young children’s development and spread joy, laughter and positive shared experiences.

It’s OK to pause your usual screen time rules, one expert tells CNN. Choose age- appropriate content and a mix of educational and entertainment shows.

Age 2+ Educational TV shows:

“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” (Disney Channel)

“Sesame Street” (PBS and HBO)

Age 3+

Educational TV shows:

“The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That” (PBS Kids)

“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” (PBS)

Age 4+

Games:

Hoot Owl Hoot! (cooperation)

Race to the Treasure (cooperation and planning)

Jenga (ﬁne motor skills)

Jigsaw puzzles (patience and patterns)

Memory (memory)

Twister (balance)

Educational TV shows:

“Tumble Leaf” (Amazon Prime)

“Doc McStuns” (Disney Junior)

“Sid the Science Kid” (PBS Kids)

“Wallykazam!” (Nickelodeon)

Age 5+

Games: Charades (non-verbal communication and acting)

Don't Say It! (verbal communication)

Hangman (vocabulary and spelling)

Parcheesi and Sorry (counting and probability)

Pick-up sticks (ﬁne motor skills)

Pictionary (non-verbal communication and art)

Educational TV shows:

“The Electric Company” (PBS)

“Word Girl” (PBS Kids)

Age 6+

Games:

Connect 4 and checkers (patterns and oense/defense)

Uno and simple card games (probability)

Educational TV shows:

“Design Squad Nation” (PBS Kids)

“Planet Earth” (Discovery Channel)

Tips for parents of older kids

Be aware that teenagers are at risk for increased anxiety with the interruption to their daily lives, the uncertainty over family and ﬁnances, social interactions limited to their immediate families, and the cancellation of prom, graduation, and other high school rituals. It's important to allow teenagers to have downtime to help them deal with their emotions, explains pediatrician Dr. Katherine Williamson. Find a creative way to replace traditional high school rituals with new ones, such as celebrating members of the Class of 2020 on social media accounts, hosting online school spirit days, and considering virtual visits to college campuses

A great learning resource for your middle and high school kids (and you too!) is CNN10, the day’s news explained in 10 minutes. Check out the most recent episodes at cnn.com/cnn10 and YouTube.com/cnn10

Work-life balance

Your spouse may now be your coworker and that may be creating some tensions. Here are three things you can do to improve your new WFH situation:

Talk about what you need in a work environment Discuss what’s working and what’s not, create a schedule and set boundaries when it comes to separating work life and personal life.

Avoid treating each other like colleagues Even if you think your intentions are good, don't oer any unsolicited feedback when it comes to your partner's work style. And don't mistake your partner’s complaining as an invitation for you to provide critical feedback. Allow them to vent.

Identify your ‘must dos’ Prioritize which tasks need to be completed by the end of the day and then ﬁgure out the best way to tackle them. If you know a "must-do" task requires quiet time, look for ways to create that time like shifting around the hours you work.

Managing your family’s ﬁnances

Tax day has been pushed back until July 15. Some homeowners can defer their mortgage payments. Federal student loan payments have been delayed interest-free for two months. Some foreclosures and evictions have been suspended. Utility shutos in some municipalities have been put on hold. And the government is sending most Americans a stimulus check. But these measures won't stop the ﬁnancial pain for all families. What can you do if you know you are not going to be able to pay all your bills? Here are some tips:

Talk to your lenders now Getting relief is possible, but you need to talk with bill collectors now

Arrange for a break on housing payments Relief is available immediately for borrowers who are unable to make their mortgage payments due to the coronavirus pandemic, regardless of whether they have contracted the virus.

Use your federal stimulus check It may not be enough to cover all the bills, but it will hopefully oer some temporary relief. If you haven’t received yours yet, there may be a good reason.

If you’ve lost your job — ﬁrst of all, you are not alone. Here are a few things you need to know about unemployment beneﬁts:

How to apply Log onto your state unemployment agency's website or call its hotline -- and be prepared to wait.

How much you’ll get Beneﬁts range from about $200 to $550 a week, on average, and typically replace about 40% of one's wages. Congress OK’ed an extra $600 a week for up to four months, through July 31.