Four Ways to Keep Your Family’s Sanity During COVID-19

By Victoria Cobb, Family Foundation President and Proud Mom of Four Kids!

1)      Choose a family “day-start time”: You’d be surprised how much this helps kick the day off with a little less chaos and a little more togetherness! The Cobb family picked 9:30 a.m. That means, by 9:30, everyone is dressed, beds made, floors cleared, breakfast eaten, breakfast cleaned up and teeth brushed. This approach really helps the “sleep-late kid”—who would sleep until 11 if given free reign— to have some basic structure, and at the same time keeps the little ones—who wanted to be out of bed and get everything done by 8—from losing the motivation to start the day earlier.

2)      Plan a family exercise break: This approach helps everybody relieve mental stress and reconnect. I highly recommend planning daily outside exercise—but be sure to maintain some type of exercise break, regardless. Don’t make it subject to how you feel at the moment. We chose to do a full family walk at 11:30 a.m. each day (some members choose to bike). This occurs after an hour of chores and an hour of academics.  It’s also a great “stop work time” for me—since I combine it with lunch immediately afterward.  We bring our dog which helps his 12- pound weight loss effort (yes, he’s apparently obese).  Not only does this help all members of our family, including canine—but it also forces the adults to move from stationary work positions.

3)      Create a new growth opportunity: At the request of my kindergartener, we are reading aloud The Pilgrim’s Progress—one chapter a night after dinner.  This act of choosing an activity together will give both you and your children a unique, precious memory when this whole ordeal is over.

4)      Be proactive with character building: This is a wonderful opportunity to observe your children more closely and take the time to proactively determine what character building might be good to foster.  You don’t need to tell them. Just to give an example—at my house, now that we can observe nearly everything that’s happening, we’re taking the time to diligently reduce and reform the spirit of laziness.  When chores are done half-heartedly, we have time to direct our children to redo the chore. When cabinets are left open or a game is left out and a child has moved on to the next activity, we can gently stop them and redirect them to immediate task completion. 

I hope these tips create as much blessing and restoration for your family as they did mine—until next time!

Victoria