Category: Lifestyle

we are all anxious about a period of quarantine, not sure what to do, how to work, financial worries and children being stuck indoors and getting bored of learning from home. i wanted to write up a few things you can try and add into your daily routine to keep everyone feeling upbeat and energised. i’ve written up a post about things you can do during self isolation which has a few more ideas and explains the differences between self isolation and a nation wide lockdown.

the most important thing during a nation wide quarentine or lockdown is to maintain and observe social distance of at least 2 metre or around six foot, but more if you can. most places will be closed and shops like supermarkets will likely only allow certain amount of people in at a time. it’s also not advisable to visit family or have people over as a preventative measure and if someone becomes ill in the household, attempt to maintain social distance from the family member in the house too. most importantly, wash your hands frequently through the day and encourage children to do the same.

start the day together by opening up the windows to get some fresh air into the home and getting everyone to make their bed. then enjoy breakfast together if you’re feeling well enough to do that. we are in a flat and the air can feel stagnant quickly if we can’t get out and about. we also don’t have access to a garden as i’ve mentioned many times before but getting plenty of natural light and fresh air into the home to circulate can be a mood booster for me.

the schools are closing during the spring term which means more daylight and that is a positive for me. i feel so much better during the lighter months of the year, more productive and more able to get up and get things done. this would have been harder in january for me for sure.

find a way to enjoy movement together. this could be a walk together, providing people are allowed to leave the house for a walk together. joining in with joe wicks early morning pe classes on his youtube channel. doing some yoga or having a daily dance party.

get creative with your pantry. people are stockpilling all kinds of crazy things and this will die down when people move to acceptance of this weird kind of world. i feel like i’m at the acceptance stage really, and my fears and worries are more about adam’s place of work than anything else now that schools have announced closure. i know we will be able to still continue feeding our family. before we head back to the shops for supplies we will be using as much as we possibly can that we already have. that might include some weird and wonderful creations but at least we will not be going hungry. getting the kids involved can be a great way to give them something to do and keep them occupied too.

use this as a chance to get things changed in this country. working from home has never been so important. show your employers that home working is doable, show them how beneficial flexible working can be. perhaps this will lead to some changes in work patterns that are desperately needed in this country to support parents, part time workers, those requiring flexi hours or those that have additional needs. if we can show our employers how working from home can work well for all involved it could go hand in hand with changing some key leglisation and work from home policies.

now is your chance to try and do something new if you’re having to stay away from work and observing social distancing. if you have the time and you’re well enough to do so try something new. learn a language or pick up an instrument, have a go at creating or crafting. try some new recipes together. perfect your baking skills. do an online course. there are plenty of things you can do that will help keep your mind occupied. we’ve likely got around 12 weeks of this isolation period and that’s quite a lot of time to try something different. fitting this into your every day life will mean that you have something to look forward to.

take some time to read together. not only will this really help children with their reading, writing and vocabularly, it will give you some quiet time to pick up a book you’ve wanted to read for ages. a kindle is a great source of entertainment for me and allows me to have a library in my lap. i have a shelf of books i want to read this year and i’m trying to complete a reading challenge of 52 books. the time ahead will probably mean i reach that challenge much sooner than i anticipated.

whilst many of us will have to work and will struggle with the isolation there are things we can do to keep in contact with loved ones. write letters, face time and video chat regularly, email people and participate in groups on facebook or other social media. keep in touch with people. stay safe. it’s easy to feel uncertain about this, this is pretty overwhelming for many but we will get through this. this too shall pass.

maintain social distancing, only go out if for exercise or supplies as and when you need them. don’t take more than you need unless you’re helping vulnerable people. wash your hands.

people are taking it among themselves to self isolate during this outbreak of coronavirus, properly known as covid-19 and there’s plenty of speculation of people worrying about what to do, getting bored and being stuck in with kids. i know it’s a daunting thought with leisure facilities being closed and maintaining social distance, it’s a time we might feel alone, genuinely isolated or worried. i also know that i have anxiety and planning for the worst is pretty much what i do best.

with schools now closed, we are facing the realistic view of non-vital workplace closures to try and flatten the curve and lessen pressure from nhs and public services. we all have a responsibility and quite frankly everyone’s economoy is going to suffer globally. in my opinion, much better to self isolate just in case and avoid risking passing this harmful virus on to vulnerable people. i’ve also written up my plans for how i’m continuing my child’s education which you might find useful.

what is self isolation?

self isolation is for those that, at time of writing, have a new persistent cough and/or high temperature. it’s also for those who have travelled from countries displaying large positive tests, if you’ve been in contact with someone that has tested positive or have any of the symptoms of covid-19.

self isolation is a period of time where you remain in your home. if you are self isolating you can not go outside for an initial period of seven days. if your symptoms are cleared within 7 days, you are feeling well enough to do so, then you are able to return to your normal activities. if you are still feeling unwell you are advised to contact nhs 111 service and seek further advice. if only one person as symptoms in the household you are supposed to maintain social distance of 1-2metres but good luck doing that with kids, especially a toddler. i understand the importance of this, but i also know in reality my kids aren’t going to stay away from me if we self isolate. the new advice says if one person in a household develops a new dry continous cough and/or a fever (high temperature) then the household must self isolate for 14 days.

you need to ask family/friends to help with deliveries/errands such as topping up electric, getting food or drink. if you have access to a garden you are allowed in your garden as that is part of your property. you might be able to work from home and there are plenty of online resources for children to continue learning if they feel well enough to do so.

during self isolation you might not have covid-19 and might be well enough to do plenty of things. also as parents of children with a cough/cold or high temperature it seems when faced with calpol they can be suprisingly resillient and ‘bounce back.’ the list below is to help alleviate some boredom and give a bit of inspiration.

what is the difference between self isolation and lockdown?

the difference is a country wide lockdown or quarentine does not mean self isolation. if the country is in lockdown and any members of the family display symptoms of covid-19 then you would need to remain in your home. if the country is on lockdown you will be able to leave the house but you might not find there is much to do.

when a country is in quarantine or lockdown it usually means that any place that is not a public necessity would shut for a period of time. this includes leisure facilities such as cinemas, swimming pools, shopping centres and sporting grounds. this is to prevent mass gatherings and to help comply with social distancing.

during lockdown because of covid-19 in the uk it is likely that schools and workplaces will close but supermarkets, some resturants that offer takeout/delivery and pharmacies would remain open. doctors appointments may be rearranged or rescheduled as emergency only. places that are open would require social distancing of around 1-2m space per person and only a limited amount of people would be allowed in one place at any one time.

you will probably be allowed to go for a walk or run for fresh air, but parks and outside leisure facilities may be closed. social distancing will have to be observed in all cases too. even if you are working from home it’s going to be tough with children around – i should know, i currently attempt to!

some of the ideas below might be useful if you’re workplace and school is closed and you need some fresh ideas to break up the day.

24 things to do when in social isolation with children at home

1. let each family member pick a film to watch and make each night a family film night
2. read together and then discuss the book you’ve read or ask your child to review a book they haven’t read yet
3. look for fun kids workout videos on youtube, like yoga
4. make a playlist of your favourite songs and host a dance competition
5. star in a family fashion show
6. look for some educational apps such as duolingo to learn together
7. get everyone to write a story in 500 words or less and read them out together
8. put blankets on the floor and have a picnic lunch or dinner
9. encourage children to help with housework, cleaning and meal prep
10. play some video games together
11. look through old photo albums and talk about your favourite memories
12. facetime or skype with a relative or friend
13. go through your cookbooks and find some new recipes you’d all like to try
14. take the chance to declutter and sort old clothes if you have the room to store them until you can donate and/or sell on
15. let the kids create a menu of the day
16. bake something if you have the ingredients, if you have some of the ingredients pinterest might have some interesting ideas or you can look for raw/unbaked goods.
17. take a day time nap
18. bubble baths any time of the day
19. have a family pamper session. you don’t need anything fancy, you could do each others nails and give each other hand massages with hand cream or use up any facemasks you might have.
20. learn a dance routine
21. do a puzzle together
22. find an audiobook and listen together
23. create a scrapbook with any printed photos you might have
24. if you’ve been meaning to decorate a room now might be a good chance to start by rearranging things. if you’ve already got the supplies get it done or take the time to do any diy work or deep cleans that need doing.

i don’t know what to believe anymore. i don’t trust our prime minister and i don’t think he cares at all about public health when so many other countries are taking harsher measures to enforce this. it seems like they’re going down the route of herd immunity which means around 60% of the population need to catch and recover from covid-19 to prevent the spreading. it’s basically a big fuck you at the public really. i know a lot of you are going to die but that’s just the way it is *shrugs*

i don’t want to visit my family because i don’t want to make them ill in case i have unknowingly been in contact with someone that has it because lots of people seem to be carriers before any symptoms of around two weeks. so that’s excellent. adam’s sister is a nurse and has told us she’s helping those with covid-19 in the area so of course we’re worried about her because, like all health care providers, they are at the front line of this trying to keep it under control and flatten the curve as it were.

my family are all smokers apart from us and as this is affecting the lungs and going to pneumonia for so many people so naturally i am worried about my parents getting sick because they’ve smoked all their lives. my mum has had pneumonia which was horrible to watch her go through. my youngest sister has had so many cases of bronchitus and whilst she’s not in an ‘at risk’ group and vapes instead of smokes i still worry about how she will cope with this. i worry about my grandad who has copd and over 70 so unlikely to survive this. adam’s nan’s nursing home has said no visitors unless an emergency which i completely understand because a virus like this would go through care homes like wildfire.

the evidence and numbers seem to suggest that children are least likely to suffer critically but many of my friends have children with childhood asthma, or even asthma themselves which again puts them massively at risk. i myself have an 18 month old who in our family is my biggest worry. however, looking at the statistics and numbers i think adam and i will be able to survive this virus. i am sure we would both be incredibly unwell and parenting would be very difficult. there’s no real time frame for how long this might last for, some people it seems to be just over a week, some much longer.

we are doing, as a family, all we can really. thankfully adam now drives and hasn’t had many classes at university due to the strikes for the last couple of weeks. he’s currently off work for 12 days so that will help with social distancing. i’m a home worker so our only real risks have been school and shopping. we’re also very lucky that if things were to close we do not have to pay for childcare and i am already home. i am hoping i would be able to pick up some work, no matter how small, to help get us through.

my real fear is the uncertanty with adam’s work. he is on a zero hour contract and works for a small business. if they were told to close would he and all the staff automatically get statutory sick pay until the business reopened again? would his manager allow for people to take a loan-advance of their wages over the month or so they would be closed? will our housing association suspend rent arrears for a few months? will adam get absolutely nothing and we will be left having to beg and borrow money throughout april to afford electric and food?

people are stockpilling stuff (apparently loo roll is the thing they are the most worried about) which is dangerous and is driving prices up for things like paracetamol and calpol. formula for babies is hard to get. nappies are hard to get. milk is hard to get. pasta has become unaffordable for so many people. should i be getting a couple of tins on my next shop? an extra box of painkillers or calpol just in case? more oat milk? should i fill up the freezer? should we still go on holiday?

this uncertainty is what is worrying me because i don’t really know what to do. i don’t know if we will be okay financially. i know what to do to try and prevent covid-19 – wash hands frequently, avoid touching the face, practise social distancing, be sensible but don’t panic. other than that though i don’t really know what to do or how to prepare for the worst.

this is a worrying time for so many friends and family. i am glad we have technology that can help us connect with each other during times of worry. the online world can bring us closer to people when we need to stay away which will help people not feel so isolated. if you are worried too, you’re not alone and i hope you stay well and as stress free as possible. i am always here to talk if you need it.