Essential Advice for Tackling Family Tensions in Self-Isolating Households

Essential Advice for Tackling Family Tensions in Self-Isolating Households

Although many families have slowly returned to the routines they followed before the COVID-19 pandemic began, your household may still be self-isolating. Perhaps one of your family members is an essential worker who does not want to risk spreading the virus, or maybe you have a child with a medical condition that makes them especially vulnerable to COVID-19. If your family has been in isolation for quite a while, you may be grappling with household tensions. Here are a few strategies to help you address the roots of these issues.

Lack of Physical Activity

Perhaps your family was quite active before the pandemic, but after a few months indoors, you’ve slowly slipped from practicing those wellness habits. A lack of exercise may have you all feeling grouchy, sluggish, and irritable. With a solid workout routine, you’ll be able to release the tension you’ve been feeling – just try to choose exercises your kids can keep up with! If you’ll be going outside, pack masks and go over the guidelines for wearing them with your kids, just in case. And if you’ve been indulging in comfort food and takeout throughout this pandemic, prioritize cooking healthy meals instead.

As a parent, you may be craving an opportunity to get away for a little while and get fit while you’re at it. A horseback riding retreat with the team at BeUnstoppable could be the perfect solution! Benefits abound—you’ll be able to enjoy the great outdoors, work out, and embrace a temporary change of pace.

Kick Boredom to the Curb

Despite your best efforts to keep your children entertained, boredom may have set in by now. Boredom can definitely contribute to rising household tensions, so it might be time to pick up a new family hobby that you can all enjoy together!

Consider giving online multiplayer gaming a try. Just make sure that you have a strong Internet connection to handle the demands. You may want to get your household hooked up with a fiber optic connection through a company like Verizon, which will boost your download speeds and ensure that you can enjoy smoother gameplay. Don’t forget to set some sensible screen time limits for your kids!

Addressing Loneliness

After spending so much time at home with little outside social interaction, your kids might be feeling lonely – and you can probably relate. Loneliness can definitely factor into household tensions. Maybe it’s time to add a little pizzazz to your usual video chats with friends and relatives! Try to incorporate fun games and interactive virtual activities into video chat sessions. This can help your kids feel like it’s a digital playdate.

Processing Sadness

Your children might feel sad about plans and opportunities they’ve missed out on because of the pandemic. That sadness can turn into anger. Parent Map states that it is important to validate your child’s feelings, even if they are having a meltdown. Taking a deep breath to soothe your own anxieties is also crucial!

Once you have helped your child calm down, you will often find they are upset about something and need some cheering up. AllProDad recommends giving plenty of hugs and encouragement, and compliment them on everything they’ve handled well since the beginning of the pandemic. Give them something to look forward to as well – talk about all of the fun plans you can make once it’s safe again!

The pandemic has tested families everywhere, and if you’ve been struggling to deal with rising tensions in your household, you are not alone! However, you do not have to resign yourself to living with these sources of stress going forward. With these tips, you’ll be able to make your family’s days feel a little brighter.

This article was submitted by Emma Grace Brown (Guest Author)

LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS