The days of the families have turned: no more school, no job or smartworking, perhaps in very small houses, with restricted spaces. Let’s see how to be able to order and programs despite the obligation to stay within our domestic environment
Anna is 4 years old, this morning she woke up and immediately asked: “What do you do?”. The father replied: «What you want, honey, is at home. Play a little, while I prepare breakfast ». After a couple of hours, however, Anna asked again: “But after what do we do?”. At that point mom and dad decided that it was time to make a program: normal days, marked by private and family commitments, activities and movement, as always. This is because making order reassures and oriented.
In a well -known space and time it is not necessary to keep the guard high, you can dedicate yourself in a passionate and deepened way to what is being done, since we are serene compared to what will happen. In these particular weeks, unexpected, however, it is necessary more than ever to order To reassure children and even parents.
The program of the day
Together with your child, take a large sheet and listed on the left, in the order you consider most appropriate, all the things you know will happen throughout the day: breakfast, yoga, board games, personal hygiene, tasks, snack, painting, movie, lunch, dinner etc. Next to each appointment we draw a stylized watch that indicates the time when each of these activities should take place. This will also allow the little ones to compare the clock designed with the real clock (the home) to see if they correspond, therefore also a good opportunity to bring children closer to the temporal orientation and to read the hour; For this purpose, if you have the opportunity, it will be good to carry out this activity near a wall clock or an alarm clock.
This programming will allow your child to independently find information about what happens at that moment and what will happen later.
Work shifts
The dilated time that we are forced to live in recent weeks is a golden occasion to slow down and indulge the “slow advance” of children. Involveing them in domestic activities will not be difficult and, without haste, it will also be easy to encourage their autonomy in many personal care and environmental care activities. Let’s take a few examples: water the plants, prepare and disgust the table, spread the clothes, load the washing machine, sprinkle, bend the linen, load and download the dishwasher, cook etc.
Also in this case, a programming of the work shifts easily readable both by the big children and the smallest ones will be needed. In this regard, take a sheet and frame the days of the week. On the left listed the family members involved in the “game” (only children under 2 years will be exempt!). Trust a symbol – for example geometric forms – to each task and illustrate the legend. Now it is time to entrust each member of the family a couple of homework a day, orchestrastying everything with empathy and cunning, that is, keeping in mind the needs, preferences and difficulties of our children.
The time of the parents
For those who need or the opportunity to do smart working from home to organize themselves is very important, since work often requires tranquility and intimacy. Those who have an extra room will take advantage of this space, but making children understand that “when mom or dad are inside they must not be disturbed because they need to concentrate”. If, on the other hand, the extra room is not there you can reason on the contrary: for the time necessary at work, the other parent will be able to keep company with the child in the other spaces of the house; This “isolation” is necessary, because if the baby sees the parent at work, in a short time it will certainly want to interact with him.
In any case It is important that the order is maintained, that there are no “discounts” on the shifts or changes of program not agreed. If these variations are necessary, an official communication in a family meeting is needed!
