Stay home, stay well: Bond better with your children

Due to the countrywide shutdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, children have been confined to their homes and their daily routines have changed completely all of a sudden.

It is imperative to help children feel settled at home as confinement can be a reason to become restless. Suddenly they cannot meet their schoolmates and friends, which can aggravate the problem.

It has become a tough task for parents to keep children inside the home to protect them from the risk of contracting Covid-19.

Experts said during this crisis period parents should be more patient to make their children understand the situation and of the importance of staying at home.

"Tell your kids that there are some new germs in the environment. We have to stay home and you [children] also have a role to play," said Tanjin Jahan, a physician.

She advised to teach them coughing etiquette, proper hand-washing techniques and to make the process enjoyable.

"For example, when washing your hands sing the Happy Birthday song twice. When singing ends, your hand washing ends," she said, offering the popular song as a helpful guide to keep washing hands for the prescribed 20 seconds.

Tanjin said though there is no school and so no fixed schedule, parents should see that children stick to their regular routines as much as possible as they benefit from structure.

Make a new schedule for study time, play time, movie time, etc.

"Keep a time for conversation. Discuss various issues with the kids ranging from fairy tales to Covid-19," she suggested, adding that as kids always pick up cues from their parents' conversations, parents should be careful during their discussions too.

She suggested spending quality time with the kids as this shutdown is a golden opportunity to get closer to the children and understand them further.

"The friendlier you will be with your children, the easier it will be to deal with them," she advised.