"Back to basics" - Emma Neale
"Life in lockdown has really seen us stripping back to basics as a family"
Life in lockdown has really seen us stripping back to basics as a family, I am lucky that I only work 3 days, however the rest of the time I am looking after two year old twins and home schooling a 12 year old. It has allowed me to spend an additional year at home with the children so for that I have to be very grateful it’s such a special time.
However the house is ALWAYS a mess which can feel quite stressful, I find crayoning it all sorts of places (I feel like this is the part of lockdown us parents aren’t talking about) and it can feel very daunting trying to do year 7 maths homework!!
To look after our mental health in the summer there was lots of BBQs and garden play, and just that simple time together as a family playing & cooking was enough. Winter, I feel is more difficult especially this lock down, straight after Christmas things always look drab and its dark and cold.
Self-care now is all about lovely warm bubble baths, film nights as a family and being imaginative with our play – we have brought a tuff tray and created sensory & stem play – erupting volcanoes digging up dinosaur bones, in an attempt to keep the children stimulated and entertained. Every night I make sure I take the time to go for a bubble bath, burn wax melts and read a book even if its 10 minutes, it feels very good to have me time.
I have also set myself the challenging of doing an on line course – there are so many free opportunities out there at the moment to up skills it’s a great time to take advantage if you can.
