The coronavirus pandemic has impacted everyone. Businesses, schools, colleges, and family time have all been affected by the pandemic and the restrictions imposed by government officials. We are all learning to live differently, to socialize, learn, and work differently.

This sudden change in routine is overwhelming for many families. How can we move forward during these difficult times? How can we spend quality time with family and friends during a lockdown? Is there a good way to keep everyone together and protect our loved ones? Are board games a good idea to get everyone involved? Let's try to answer these questions in this short guide:

1) Create a structure for your day-to-day life

We all need routine in our daily lives. Routine can essentially be described as structure, and we need it in order to be happy, especially during the lockdown. Firstly, accepting the situation that we are in is stressful and beyond our control, but it has to be done. It's perfectly normal to feel “out of place”. You have to acknowledge your feelings and thoughts in order to make the best decisions. Secondly, it's important to create a structure for your daily activities – waking up, eating breakfast, working from home, learning, and so on. A healthy dose of routine and structure is massively important when dealing with stressful situations. You'll have special time slots to focus on learning, working, relaxing, and socializing, and this helps a lot. Start by having regular times for getting up, eating meals together with your family, and going to sleep.

2) Be social – keep talking

Relationships are always important, but during this difficult period, they are what keeps us alive. Talking with another person, even if the communication is not productive or particularly exciting, is a great way to buffer stress and distress within our families. Obviously, we don't have answers about the pandemic, we don't know how long this situation will last, but being communicative and open to others is important for our mental wellbeing. If you want to talk to your family about the pandemic, make sure to use reliable information from official sources of information.

It's also important to direct our conversations away from the pandemic. Simply put, what you give is what you get – try to focus on fun, exciting topics, in order to create a more pleasant atmosphere within your family. If possible, connect with your wider family, friends, or other support groups via phone or video calls. Getting more people together is a great way to have quality family time.

3) Start a family project

Many parents are trying to start family projects that include the whole family. This is a great way to help everyone in your family get involved in a group activity. Every group activity is also a social activity, where efficient communication is key. And where there's good communication, everyone is happy.

The sudden increase in hours spent indoors will make everyone gather around the TV or the computer. And this is one of the best ways to start having quality family time. A good computer game can get everyone involved. It's the perfect way to learn, communicate, and compete. It's fun and exciting for everyone. Similarly, board games or construction games are also great alternatives. Luckily, there are hundreds of different board games to choose from, and you can include all your family in this group activity.

4) Make the most of digital devices

During the lockdown, we've all turned to technology for connections. We are using social media to keep in touch with our distant family, friends, or coworkers. Technology is what lets us interact and keep in touch with our loved ones, and we should use it to our advantage.

Luckily, there are plenty of digital devices to experiment with during this period. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of apps that can be used to connect with your family. There are apps focused on group games, quizzes, videos, music, and anything you can think of. There are also many apps that can help you manage group tasks and various other activities. The lockdown can also be also a great time to talk to your children about technology and how it can be used to have fun, to learn and develop speech and social skills, especially for young children.

5) Play and keep moving

Playing on the computer, watching TV, or using various apps are fabulous ways to connect with your family, but you'll need a break after a couple of hours. Just sitting or lying down with a smartphone in your hand is not good, especially if you have small children who need physical activity. Playing with your kids is a great group activity – you get to be active as well. It's also a great motivator for children to play together with other children. It reduces their anxiety, stress levels, and exposes them to amazing experiences. You, as a parent, just have to supervise and structure their playtime and check if everything is safe.

6) Be calm and kind to yourself

Being calm is critical during this period. And it's a superpower many of us wish to have. Being calm is important because it helps you regulate stress and anxiety. Knowing how to breathe slowly and deeply can help you avoid stressful situations. The feelings of panic will slow down and the stress hormones will not affect you as much.

7) Sleep matters

Getting good quality sleep is very important for you and your whole family. You cannot focus on any type of activity if you don't get enough sleep. Make sure you follow a few simple steps in order to get a better night's sleep. For instance, don't take your phone to bed, make sure the bedroom is fresh, and have a relaxing, quiet atmosphere for everyone in your family.

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