62
votes
Accepted
How would you explain COVID-19 lockdown to a 4 year old?
First of all, recognize that your concerns may not be the same as your four year old's concerns. This has two implications:
Your child may be worried about things you couldn't have thought of. Your ...
- 10.5k
56
votes
How to work-at-home given no daycare
We're fortunate to have somewhat older children, who need only short attention bursts followed by longer periods of working independently. However, with a 14 month old, you're not going to get that!
...
- 57.4k
37
votes
Accepted
(How) do you explain a 3 year-old that he has to stay at his grand-ma for longer than anticipated?
Just be straightforward.
Tell him what will happen and why in whatever way you feel makes sense to him. Then ask open ended questions to check in on whether he understands (or not) and what his ...
- 6,642
25
votes
How to work-at-home given no daycare
To add to Joe's excellent answer:
One option I occasionally found helpful is what I'd call babysitting by video chat (or video conference).
In our case, there are many people who have free time to ...
- 2,678
24
votes
Accepted
Child hates face masks
In my experience, if the objection is due to the typical dislike of change, then simply being persistent and leading by example will win the day. Make it clear that she cannot go out if she does not ...
- 57.4k
22
votes
Child hates face masks
The illusion of choice and of being in control are powerful with kids this age. Don't ask, or tell, her to put on a mask. Present her with a few different masks and ask her which one she wants you to ...
- 6,210
22
votes
Accepted
How to work-at-home given no daycare
My husband and I work at home and have a two year old. We Have found the following to work really well for us.
Setup a safe play area. We have a play area right by our office that is completely ...
- 1,758
20
votes
How would you explain COVID-19 lockdown to a 4 year old?
Some great resources exist already for this. Here are a few my child's school has suggested, which I also think are fantastic.
The CDC site on talking to children about Coronavirus focuses both on ...
- 57.4k
15
votes
How would you explain COVID-19 lockdown to a 4 year old?
To you and me, this lockdown is unprecedented. To a four year old child, everything is unprecedented. They are used to new things happening because new things happen all the time to them.
“There are ...
- 1,401
13
votes
What are some options for helping my child continue learning while schools are closed?
Khan Academy is a great resource for letting children learn math and science/technology at any age. It allows children to progress through different subjects, includes videos to teach them each ...
12
votes
What are some options for helping my child continue learning while schools are closed?
I would grasp the opportunity to teach them about things that they don't learn in school, or to teach them in a different way from the way they are taught in school.
Perhaps look at family photos and ...
10
votes
(How) do you explain a 3 year-old that he has to stay at his grand-ma for longer than anticipated?
I do not understand why so many people seem to think such problems ought to be hidden from their own children. 3-year-olds are certainly old enough to grasp basic concepts like love and good and bad, ...
- 406
9
votes
How to work-at-home given no daycare
Not sure if it will work for a 14-month-old, but a 2.5-year-old can already learn to play themselves for 1-2 hours at a time without disturbing the parent. I've used this for extending the time I have ...
- 719
7
votes
Child hates face masks
Are you wearing yourself? There is usually no problem to persuade children to do what both parents consistently do.
Also you can simply explain what:
She is unlikely to get sick seriously but she ...
- 238
7
votes
How to work-at-home given no daycare
In addition to the great answers already given and from the perspective of a single parent of a very energetic and active 23 month old.
I think its really important to talk to your employer/boss (...
- 171
6
votes
What are some options for helping my child continue learning while schools are closed?
If the kids are allowed to take their textbooks home, it should be a simple matter to get emails from their teachers with lesson plans (all teachers have to have lesson plans in place.) Then just ave ...
5
votes
Child hates face masks
Every kid is different, so this may not work in your case, but I got my (almost) four year old son to wear a mask (now required in my area for children over two) by turning it into a bit of a dress-up ...
- 351
5
votes
Child hates face masks
Could you get one of the masks with a headband and clear plastic screen, and pretend it's a 'space helmet'? https://medworx.co.uk/
- 51
4
votes
How would you explain COVID-19 lockdown to a 4 year old?
There are some great YouTube videos that have been put together by Michelle Dickinson aka NanoGirl.
This one is explicitly aimed at kids:
Coronavirus Explained! (For kids)
as is this one: How to ...
- 141
4
votes
Accepted
Kids worry that mom, working overseas, may get COVID and die
I wonder if pure logic and statistics will make them feel better. Few tips to help them
Spend more quality time with them.
Maybe they can have a bit of social life? Maybe their schooling and social ...
- 94
4
votes
Can I contact the SSA to get my baby's SSN before the card arrives to apply for insurance ahead of time?
You should not need a SSN to enroll your newborn in your health insurance provider. Check with your insurer for their exact method of handling this, but in general, you can add a newborn without a ...
- 57.4k
3
votes
Traveling with Toddler- during covid tips
I've traveled with my son a few times between ages 1 - 2.5, some of them one-adult trips, although all were before covid-19. It's tough but doable.
I did talk to my son about what would be involved ...
- 7,524
3
votes
How to work-at-home given no daycare
In addition to some practical tips here, one thing that immensely helped us is a strict schedule and division of duties. My younger one needs mom/dad interacting with her at all times. My older one ...
- 1,575
3
votes
What are some options for helping my child continue learning while schools are closed?
I would recommend Coursera as their classes are from respectable colleges and professors. Also, another online class program I've used that I have very much enjoyed and learned from was The Great ...
3
votes
How would you explain COVID-19 lockdown to a 4 year old?
I did this as a pen-and-paper game with my small child. It was dotted paper, I said "each of these dots is a person, now look I'm going to make this one sick." I coloured in one dot with a pen. "This ...
- 131
2
votes
How would you explain COVID-19 lockdown to a 4 year old?
Most answers focus on explaining why it is important that the virus is super infectious and what we can do to decrease the spread. These are incredibly valuable. For me, it helps if you understand ...
- 121
2
votes
How would you explain COVID-19 lockdown to a 4 year old?
Thank you, Mr. President. It's not easy for me either. I also stay at home all the time. I don't shake hands with anyone, not in a long time. I wash my hands thoroughly, every day, as it should be,...
- 297
1
vote
How to work-at-home given no daycare
When we were still in shut down, we took shifts. I started at 6am and worked through nap time (about 2 in the afternoon). If I managed to start on time, I could get a solid 6 hours in, sometimes ...
- 146
1
vote
How would you explain COVID-19 lockdown to a 4 year old?
I am a psychotherapy student. :)
CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) is a leading institute that offers mental health research and advice. See their resource centre for mental health and ...
- 11
1
vote
How would you explain COVID-19 lockdown to a 4 year old?
To my 3 years old niece we have told that we have to stay inside because there are invisible "little monsters" which can make people badly sick, and we don't want to come in touch with them.
The "...
- 19
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