Parents: Surviving Quarantine with Kids at Home
Parents, we admire you like woah. You are some strong, patient cookies. Children across the world are home from school and daycare, leaving parents without the support they’re used to and kids without the structure they crave. Whether you yourself are working or not, this isn’t an easy circumstance to deal with.
We asked some parents at 8fit HQ how they are creating some routine at home with their kids. Here’s what they had to say:
On exercise
Ben told us, “My wife and I exercise for 30 minutes every morning and allow about 15 minute for getting ready after.” If you’re having trouble making this much time for exercise or don’t want to wake up at the crack of dawn before your kids, try something quick like 8fit’s HIIT workouts as most are just 15 minutes or less.
If there’s no avoiding kids interrupting your workout, invite them in. “We usually do workouts together mid morning,” said Ana. “Since my son is super active, we always go for the boxing workouts in the 8fit app and then do around 30 minutes of dancing again after nap time.” Lately, Ana and her family have also been joining the 8fit Instagram live workouts weekdays at 5 p.m. CET.
Not every child will want to follow along, which could be more stressful than mind-clearing. If this is the case in your household, try sneaking exercise in little bouts throughout the day. You can use your young children as weight. For example:
Squats, holding child at chest height (or shoulders if they’re light enough)
Squat with push press, holding child at chest and then pressing overhead*
Lunges, holding child at chest height
Sumo squat, holding child at chest height
Bear crawl, done with child (growling noises optional)
Push-up with child on back (when your child is old enough to hold on)*
*These ones are best done long after meal time.
On getting work done
We are lucky here at 8fit HQ in that a lot of our work can be done from home – we know that not everyone is this fortunate. If you are working from home and also have kids running around, this could be a very challenging time for you.
“As we are both working from home, we take turns to look after our daughter – and, if she is busy or preoccupied, we can both sneak some work in,” shares Ben. Sharing responsibility with a partner or parent is also a privilege that we know not everyone has – so remember to take it one day at a time and acknowledge that this situation is temporary.
If you are struggling to get work done and your child is old enough, create a daily schedule or to-do list together. Make sure your child knows the times during which you need to focus – they can choose their own “focus” activity for that time. One great “focus time” activity that buys you about 90 minutes? A daily movie.
On play and socialising
“We plan our schedules for the week to balance out meetings, time with our daughter and exercise too,” Ben tells us. “We’ve also been taking some personal days to break the weeks up.” Taking days off allows Ben and his partner to make sure they have enough play time with their daughter – oh, and some sanity for themselves.
Both Ben and Ana schedule video chat dates with the grandparents and some family friends with kids at home. These chats help entertain their children while they get some work done. Parents could also consider sending the child off with the phone or tablet to have video “play time” with the person on the other end.
How we can help
Join us for our live workouts every day at 5pm CET (12pm EST) over on Instagram! Cast the workout onto the big screen and encourage your child to follow along. You can also browse the app for workouts that are 5 minutes or less – squeezing a couple in throughout the day.
