If you have a house full of kids, keeping up with them on a daily basis can be challenging enough. However, if you’re down and out for whatever reason, be it that you’re sick or have otherwise become temporarily physically disabled, caring for your young kids at home can seem nearly impossible. Luckily, there are some strategies you can employ that may help you better manage this time at home. To show you how, here are three tips for caring for your kids when you have limited mobility.
Only Tackle The Necessities
When you’re not feeling like your normal self, you can’t expect to function like your normal self. Knowing this, it’s important that you let yourself rest and take a break from feeling guilty for letting certain things slide. To help with this, Kirsten Brunner, a contributor to the Huffington Post, shares that you should only focus on keeping your kids fed and alive. All other things can wait until you’re back to full health. So leave the laundry and playdates for a few days.
Find Ways To Entertain The Kids Without Having To Move
It seems that your kids can tell when you’re not feeling well and become extra needy and demanding. Because of this, it can be hard to keep your kids entertained and off of you while you’re trying to recuperate. Luckily, Baby Center shares that there are a lot of ways that you can entertain your kids without you even having to move or get up. Some of the ideas include having your kids build a blanket fort and watching movies or reading in there, putting on some music so your kids can dance, or bringing out some special coloring books or other simple and clean crafts.
Help Them Help Themselves
Because you’re not going to be able to help your kids the way you normally can, it’s important in the days that you’re recovering that you allow them to help themselves. To best do this, Sarah Dobbins, a contributor to Apartment Therapy, recommends setting things that they can eat or do for themselves at lower levels so they’re easier to grab. This could include putting their cups and snacks in a low drawer or cupboard, moving some of the food in the fridge so they can easily reach it, and being okay with them making more of a mess than you’d normally like. As long as they’re not constantly asking for you to help them with something, you should view this as a win for your health.
If you’re concerned about how you’ll be able to keep taking care of your kids when you have limited mobility, consider using the tips mentioned above to make this time easier on everyone.