Now that the coronavirus is here and it’s impacting daily life (many of us living in areas where school has been shut down for at least several weeks, with possibly more on the horizon depending on how the situation unfolds), I thought it would be helpful to post some links/tips about how to make it through:

Neuropsychology and Education Services for Children and Adolescents (NESCA) posted this helpful article. It’s filled with a lot of common sense ideas of steps to implement to help everyone.
One of NESCA’s suggestions, for example, is setting up a schedule. It helps kids to know what to expect, and parents to have some sense of routine and organization. Jessica McHale Photography provides an excellent example of one here. The blocks in this schedule are longer and hence more appropriate for older-aged children (late elementary school at least and up— can you imagine an hour long walk with a toddler??). For younger kids, I recommend breaking the blocks into smaller chunks.
Pinterest. Pinterest is a gold mine for arts and crafts activities, games, and creative play.
Be gentle to yourself and those around you. Positive self-talk can be really helpful during stressful situations. This is an exceptional situation that is taxing for everyone. Your kids may be overwhelmed and acting out, and it’s ok if you feel overwhelmed too.
Make allowances. I’ve been hearing about GoNoodle (available on Youtube and through their own app) for a while now. Some of the kids I work with mention that they use them during the school day to take indoor “body breaks.” While I prefer for littles to get out and about, it’s simply not possible in Boulder right now (it was snowing last night and it’s still pretty cold right now) so the next best thing? - GoNoodle’s Milkshake Video. It’s not everyday that you find me dancing to a hot dog but it actually ended up being fun!
Online museum tours. If not for the kids, for your sanity as a parent!
Online Metropolitan Opera Performances. Same as the one above. Cheers to you if you have a kid who loves Puccini. If not, you need some Puccini.
Online educational resources. Educational publisher Scholastic is offering all of their online resources for free as are many other sources, as detailed here. For parents who are concerned about tech usage, know that many schools intentionally have kids using tablets as early as kinergarten in order to familiarize them with how to use devices. I’m a big fan of Khan Academy and Sago Mini games (in small doses) for fine motor control.
Virtual field trips
Downloadable coloring books
Mo Willem’s online daily doodle!

I came across a new term today: “Phubbing.”

Phubbing is the act of snubbing your child in favor of your phone. Cell phones are meant to be reinforcing and addictive; studies have shown that those seemingly innocent notifications that we get on our cell phones wreak physiological havoc on our brains in exactly the same way that slot machines do (Olson and colleagues, 2018). Because notifications happen so randomly, users get a burst of joy when they do receive one, which in turn encourages more usage and checking in search of that same feeling of happiness. It’s no wonder that cell phone addiction is a real thing, and over-usage has been correlated with mood difficulties (Elhai and colleagues, 2017). One study even found that college students find phones more reinforcing than food (O’Donnell and Epstein, 2019). That’s kind of mind boggling to think about- a basic human need central to human survival has now been trumped by a piece of plastic that wasn’t widespread until about 15 years ago.

So in addition to overuse being bad for the user, new research has now found that using your cell phone to the exclusion of your children can have long-term detrimental effects. Research already established that cell phone usage can cause kids to act out while they are being ignored, but now we know that children suffer the effects of being technologically “phubbed” for the longer term.

So what is a(n addicted) parent to do?

Have everyone in the family put phones away in a communal basket during family times (meals, movie night, etc.). If kids can follow the rule of no tech, so can parents.
Turn off WiFi during “tech-free” times throughout the day.
Realize that initially, breaking the cycle of checking will be difficult. As with any behavior, it helps to replace your habit to check your phone with another positive and enjoyable behavior. Set measurable goals (a certain number of checks per hour), and slowly reduce the number of hourly checks until you reach your goal. Be sure to reward yourself (or your child) for weaning off your cell phone!
Install an application that locks you out for a certain period of time
Turn off notifications

Surviving COVID-19 School Shut Downs

What's "Phubbing" and Do You Do It?