Staying at home with children

Without work, school or nursery to go to, it’s easy for your day to lack structure. You can help make staying at home feel normal and give your day structure by doing many of the things you usually do. This is important as you might find the day drags, and dividing it up will keep you and your children busy being productive and having fun even when they can't visit friends or family.

Getting up at your usual time and getting dressed will help you all feel more normal.

Get your kids to help you make it colourful and fun. Put it up where everyone can see it.

Having a plan is great but don’t worry if you don’t always stick to the schedule.

You could do spelling in the morning and counting after lunch. You can read our tips for helping support your kids' learning here, and we've put together some useful resources for learning at home here.

We all know how easy it is to snack when we’re in the house. Keeping your kids' mealtimes consistent helps structure the day and can even help your little ones’ mood - as well as stop them pestering you for snacks!

Kids need to burn off energy unless they’re unwell. This could be anything from running around the garden to watching a dance video and learning the moves. Games like musical statues are a good idea to use some energy. We have lots of great tips and games on our staying active during the coronavirus page.  

This could be the perfect time for them to learn what it takes to run a household. Maybe teach them some chores and give them a specific job they need to do, like putting away the dishes or helping hang up clothes.

There is no end to the family games you can all play together.

Set nap times if your wee ones still need it, or set a time where you relax and read a story together.

Let them have time to speak to their friends on video chat and check in with any elderly relatives too.

Well not really! But let them be in charge of what you do for a little bit every day. They can choose something fun for you all to do together at home. Letting them feel in charge and giving them some undivided attention will mean they are more likely to play alone nicely afterwards – giving you a chance to get on with things.

Treat the weekend as break time and don’t worry too much about the schedule. Let them stay in their pyjamas and watch a film or play games together.