Spending time

Set aside time to spend with each child. It can be for just 20 minutes or longer, it could be at the same time each day so children or teenagers can look forward to it. Involve your child. Ask your child what they would like to do. Choosing builds their self-confidence. If they want to do something that isn’t okay with physical distancing then this is a chance to talk with them about this. There’s lots of things that you can do with your child. Ideas for baby and toddler would be to copy their facial expressions and sounds, sing songs, make music with pots and spoons, stack cups or blocks, tell a story, read a book or share pictures.

Ideas for your young child could be to read a book or look at pictures, make drawings with crayons or pencils, dance to music or sing songs. Do a chore together. Make clearing and cooking a game. Help them with schoolwork. With teenagers you could include things like talking about something they like. Sports, music, celebrities, friends. You could cook their favorite meal together. Exercise together to their favorite music. The important thing is to engage with them, to listen to them to look at them, to give them your full attention. And any activity, that one-to-one time, should be fun, or try to be fun.