Well, it has been challenging being in lockdown with the three kids. I’ll admit I’ve had some meltdowns because of feeling overwhelmed, but 60 days into it and I can finally say that I am more settled now. This experience has certainly expanded my parenting knowledge and has helped me develop some additional skills that I can add to my parenting skillset. These are just a few of the lessons that being stuck in lockdown with my children has taught me:
- Friends and close family members who are in a similar situations are important
I find that it is important to chat to people who have similar challenges. Sharing our similar experiences makes us feel better as parents and we can also share what has helped us that might help another parent.
- Me-time is essential.
I am not a morning person and only one of my children naps during the day, so I make time for myself after they have all fallen asleep. I usually spend this time watching series, journaling, meditating, making calls to a friend or cleaning some parts of the house while listening to my favourite podcasts, without interruptions.
- It’s all about maintaining that routine.
I have a pretty solid routine in the evening that helps me and the kids wind down for the day. This routine includes playing outside, bath time, dinner time, praying together and some conversations in bed before the kids fall asleep.
- Prepping meals ahead of time makes all the difference.
I am not the kind of person who prepares her meals in advance, but cooking every day is tiring. Standing at the kitchen counter, 3 times a day to prepare the next meal can be quite exhausting, so having some vegetables chopped up in advance and cooked meals in the freezer helps me a lot for those times when I don’t feel like cooking at all.
- Don’t be so hard on yourself.
At first I felt bad about everything. I was constantly worrying about whether the kids were eating a balanced meal or that the house was clean throughout the day. Then I realised that worrying was just making me exhausted and depressed, and I wasn’t actually looking forward to the next day. Now that I have stopped being so hard on myself I have finally gotten the hang of things and I am finally feeling less stressed.
About the Author: Puseletso Tsotetsi is the founder and owner of Lefalaka construction and a proud mom to three beautiful children aged 1, 4 and 10 years old.
