Resources for Parents When Children are Stuck at Home

My husband and I have a couple of groups of runner friends that we have coffee with after we do a morning run. We can still run, but we had to get creative with the coffee social time. Since you can still go in and grab a to-go cup, we set up an impromptu sidewalk java central outside of some unopened businesses near a Starbucks. We even had a couple of non-runners and their dog join us this morning.

This coronavirus is serious, folks. It will last a while. We’ll all need to be a little creative about how we spend our time, how we socialize from a distance and how we support one another.

I know many parents are worried about their kids: Will they be so far behind academically that they’ll never be able to go to college? What do you tell them about the coronavirus if they’re scared? How do you manage working from home AND talking care of kids? And, many of us are facing even more serious issues of job loss and all the horrible fallout from that.

Your kids will be fine. They survive the summer, right? Don’t worry about drilling them with flashcards or screen programs every minute of the day. They’ll probably thrive and grow with more time spent outdoors, less standardized testing and more creative time.

If you need a little help with some good activity/learning resources, try these:

1.  Scholastic allows you to choose a grade level from Pre-K through grade 9 to provide you with daily learning experiences for your kids. https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
2. This site will give you a list of education companies offering free subscriptions due to school closings. https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/135609/list-of-education-companies-offering-free-subscriptions/
3. Nothing is more important for relieving stress and maintaining a healthy mind and body than getting outside. This site has 130+ free outdoor learning activities for kids when they’re stuck at home. https://outdoorfamiliesonline.com/free-outdoor-learning-kid-activities/

Ways to talk to your child

Children know when things are different. They may miss their friends, their school and grandparents or other relatives. They probably wonder why mom and dad are staying home.

Ask your kids what they’re thinking and answer questions honestly.

If you need help about what to say and how to say it without scaring your kids, here are some great resources for that:

https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/emergency-response/coronavirus-outbreak/coronavirus-outbreak-how-to-explain-children

https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/health-crisis-resources/talking-to-children-about-covid-19-(coronavirus)-a-parent-resource

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-talk-to-children-about-the-coronavirus-2020030719111

We want to be here for you as we try to figure this out together. The staff at TulsaKids is constantly trying to find good resources and ideas for you and your family. Go to our website homepage for more ideas like this. If you have questions that we can help you with, please ask in our TulsaParents Facebook group or email me at editor@tulsakids.com or Tara, our web and social media editor, at Tara.Rittler@gmail.com.