2020 has been a tough year for kids as well as adults. Mums dealing with the pandemic should remember that as much as it has disrupted their lives, the same is true for their children. Covid-19 has impacted their young ones’ routines in many ways.

As Autumn arrives, some mums are trying to return to work, and their kids are attempting to return to school. Here are five tips to keep in mind as the season changes.

Set a regular bedtime again

During the summer, you might have allowed your kids to stay up later than usual. However, you now need to repair their sleep schedule if that’s possible. You can do that by:

• Giving them melatonin supplements to combat insomnia
• Making their room as dark as possible
• Shutting off the electronics an hour before bedtime

You can get blackout curtains for your child’s bedroom if they’re finding it to be too light in there. You can also turn off any electronics in the room, like the TV, smartphone, laptop, desktop, etc. Most children sleep easier, the darker it is.

You should make sure that they’re not staring at any screens at least an hour before bed. You can read them a book or have some quiet playtime instead.

If you decide to administer melatonin to your kids, be sure to talk to their doctor about it first. It’s all-natural, though, so it should be fine.

Figure out their school schedule

You’ll also need to determine whether it’s safe for your kids to return to school in-person or not. There are already troubling viral images of packed hallways, with no children wearing masks.

If you’re in a city or state that does not mandate mask-wearing for school kids, then you should keep your children away, period. They need to wear masks:

• To protect themselves
• To protect their parents and older relatives at home

If they can’t go to school in-person, then look into online options. Schools should have eLearning possibilities, and if so, you need to figure out how to make your child a part of that.

Figure out a babysitting routine

If your child or children can’t go back to school in-person because of Covid-19 concerns, then eLearning or homeschooling are probably the only viable options. The thing is, though, if your child is too young to stay home on their own, someone will need to remain there with them.

If you co-parent, then you’ll need to get your spouse or significant other to stay home to watch your child or children while they do their daily eLearning. If you want your young child to learn this way, then either one parent or the other needs to be there.

If that’s not possible, then maybe another adult family member can babysit. Perhaps a retired neighbour or relative can do it.

Just remember that if someone from out of the family comes to babysit while your child learns, they need to have a mask on and stay socially distant. Your child must do the same.

Work from home if you can

If you’re having trouble setting up childcare on school days, you might need to stay home yourself. If so, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t work, though.

More jobs than ever before allow their employees to work from home. That’s not possible if you do something like retail or you work in the food service industry. Then, you will have no alternative except to return to work in-person, or you could risk losing your job.

If you explain to your boss that you need to be home for your kids, and there’s a way you can still work, maybe they will let you do it.

Explain to your kids what you need from them

It is challenging balancing school and work duties. Regardless of what you work out, it will help if you gather the whole family together before school starts if it hasn’t already.

Speak very frankly to your kids. Explain to them that things are unusual this year, and you need them to behave responsibly. Tell them about your work plans, their school situation, and outline what will happen each day.

If they’re still very young, then you can incentivise good behaviour. Tell them if they’re mummy’s big boys and girls, they can get pizza or a toy on the weekend. Try to normalise what’s happening as much as possible and try to stay cheerful and optimistic for their sake.

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