Hacks for Staying Home and Staying Sane
I’ve started this post as one that can evolve as I find things that help increase sanity and reduce whinging/mess/fighting etc while under ‘stay at home’ orders… or for home time in general. Watch this space!
Hack #1 The Jar of Goodness
My first one that has been a MASSIVE hit this week… is THE JAR OF GOODNESS.
When we had a few hours notice of lockdown, I decided that something needed to be in place to help motivate our small people to keep the peace, want to help around the house etc.
Some may call this shameless bribery… I would call it team work and an extrinsic motivation to develop some great habits around the home!
What is it?
Literally a jar and a basket of duplo (You can use ANYTHING to fill the jar).
The jar sits beside the basket and when someone does something that we are ‘working on’ (this is different for each kid) they are praised and told to pop a block in the jar. EASY!
When the jar is full, we CELEBRATE with a lollipop (this is a rare commodity in our house) - choose whatever is of value to your small people.
Things we may be ‘working on’ –
Packing away when an activity is finished with
Saying ‘Okay mum/dad’ and doing something straight away (this is a big one for our 3 year old)
Speaking instead of yelling
Solving problems with words rather than fists
Existing with ‘a happy face and a happy heart’
The beautiful thing is, that when the jar is emptied, everyone celebrates together and it starts over… potentially with a new focus eg being kind to your sibling
Have a go! It could just be your sanity saver for this next week!
Hack #2 Bring out the ‘Alone Zones’
During this time at home, we’ve started re-watching Brooklyn 99. The other night Terry talked about resorting to ‘Alone Zones’ with his twins to keep the calm. After that episode, this is my new name for ‘quiet time’.
In a conversation with a mum friend this week, I realised that not everyone has discovered the beauty of the ‘Alone Zone’, and this can end up with a mum at the end of the day rocking in the corner as she has had NO breaks.
This time in the day is my absolute saving grace and sanity-saver in a day at home… particularly now in lock down!
How it works:
When our youngest goes down for their nap (or rest time, as the case may be some days), EVERYONE has to find their own space for 40 minutes. It’s a non-negotiable. I show them the area I am in for that 40 minutes, and they need to find SOMEWHERE ELSE. They are not to disturb me during that time (unless it’s an emergency), otherwise they miss out on their beloved i-pad time in the afternoon (15 minutes on the app of their choice).
It’s amazing how refreshing this time apart is for everyone. Being home continually and in each other’s spaces can send everyone a little loco, so this time isn’t just a good reset for you, it’s good for everyone.
No screens, find something quiet to do.
‘Alone’ activities include lego, drawing, listening to abc kids listen or Disney stories on Spotify, puzzles, doll-house play, reading books etc etc.
My kids have been practising this alone time since they gave up their day sleeps, and it doesn’t work every day (sometimes they just want to be close). The majority of the time though, it really does work.
Give it a go! If your kids are new to alone/quiet time, start small and praise the heck out of them for being alone. Kids respond to countdown timers, so that too could be your friend as you start this wonderful journey towards midday bliss.
Give it a crack!
Your 6pm self will thank you for it!
Hack #3 Change is as good as a holiday
Now that holidays are well and truly off the cards, change is the next best thing.
If compliance is losing its shine, switch up your reward system!
After a couple of cycles of the block jar it became apparent who wasn’t pulling their proverbial weight, so we switched it up to individual charts with a dip in the treasure box as a reward for getting to 20 stamps!
20 may seem like a lot, but motivation needs to be high so I’m rewarding good behaviour and “okay mum”s left right and centre.
Note: If your child needs a more immediate reward, start with 10 and increase it from there.
This idea is nothing fancy… just use the back of a box (we all have these lying around right now 😉) to create/cut out a shape that they’re into - our picks were flowers and rockets… and voila! Motivation is BACK!
Not motivated enough? Show them what’s in the treasure box as incentive for what they are working towards and keep letting them know what is “stamp worthy behaviour”
Examples
going to sleep without calling out/coming out of the room
Saying “okay mum” and doing things when asked the first time round
Following instructions straight away
Great attitude
Helping without being prompted
Helping with prompting
Etc!
Change. It’s good.
Change their rooms around.
Change the play spaces.
It’s amazing what a little change can do for everyone’s head game!