Life has been thrown upside down for all of us during this extremely difficult global problem of the COVID-19 virus. As expats, we are battling a lot these days; grabbling with emotions, homesickness, and situations that we have never had to face.
One particular immediate issue is, now that the schools are shut and optional self-quarantine has been put in place, what do we do with our teenagers?
Parents are freaking out, especially those with teenagers and their special “brand” of attitude. Don’t pull your hair out (yet) here are some ideas to help you keep your sanity and your teenagers as well, written by a mother of two teens.
Here are 8 things to add to your teenagers’ day to keep them busy in quarantine:
Make a day plan for your teenager
Sit down with your teen and organize a day plan set up in blocks that should be followed every week. Write it in on an excel sheet, or any word document, so that each block can be commented on and checked off. Mega important to check off tasks as it helps avoid arguments. Every morning, my teen and I have our morning meeting where he shows me his school tasks, and how he has decided to divide his day and I assign the housework task. Here is what our day plan looks like:
Mandatory Wake-Up Time
Particularly for the sleepy always tired teen, but be flexible, perhaps between 8:30 or 9 AM for example.
Schoolwork Block (3 to 4 hours)
They should devise a plan on how to finish the tasks. One of my favorite tips to encourage studying is to install the app quizlet.com for learning vocabulary for languages and various subjects. And it has fun learning games to help remember vocabulary. If your teen is interested in picking up another language while out of school, get them set up with an online program!
Exercise Block
I know we are restricted with our movement these days, but if they have a bike, rollerblades, or a skateboard and you feel comfortable with them doing a few rounds in the neighborhood, encourage it. Especially for your athletic teen who is used to a high amount of sport, they will need to channel this extra energy. Otherwise, in the event, we go into full lockdown, try out some YouTube video workout courses to release all that energy!
“C”(reative) Block
For us, this block is used to do creative tasks such as painting, puzzles, mobile building, playing music, drawing, sketching, etc. This can be really challenging for certain teens who lack confidence in creative tasks, but if you search hard enough, they will find something. My son decided during his “C” block to teach his mother how to play chess.
If your teenager is like most teenagers, their ambitions may be somewhat restricted to playing online video games and scrolling through Instagram. Here are four ideas on how to implement the “C” block (creative element) in your daily schedule.
- Time to learn how to cook: cooking is one of the most essential life skills you could teach your teenager. Encourage them to look in the cupboards, scan the fridge, and find recipes based on the ingredients in the house. Teach them the basics of hygiene, food preparation, and simple recipes. Soon, your teenager will be scanning the web for cooking shows and YouTube videos on various recipes. You don’t know, but the next Jamie Oliver could be right now in your kitchen. BBC Good Food and Simply Recipes have some great basic recipes to get started!
- Time to learn how to sew: if you have a sewing machine, now is the time to get it out. You will be so surprised that the most unlikely teenagers will quickly pick up the skill of sewing, and they will really enjoy it. It is not just about creativity, but also about math. Start out easy, showing simple tasks, encourage them to upcycle old clothes, and rip up old clothes to see how they are constructed.
- Take a virtual tour of a famous museum: get your teen to talk or write about one of the exhibitions which they loved, hated, or thought was really cool. There are a number of amazing free virtual tours of some of the most beloved museums around the world including the Guggenheim Museum, Musée d’Orsay, and the Van Gogh Museum
- Take an online course or workshop. There are many online courses out there, some are more pitched towards the working professional, but have your teen scroll through the following: SkillShare (offers low-cost membership courses), Google Digital Garage (free courses, but more for adult learners), and Scholastic (scholastic is offering free online courses for kids).
Housework Block
Every day there is a housework task implemented into the day plan. They are simple tasks such as vacuuming the bedroom or unloading the dishwasher.
Once they have their schedule, they can get on with their work and so can you. I organize a time slot for lunch, more or less around the same time every day. As my sister would say about her teenage twins: you don’t have time to play homework and cop with them, this is the time where they can hone their sense of responsibility.
At first, be aware, you will encounter a lot of opposition to implementing such a plan, but like children, teenagers also need a lot of structure. Just keep at it, be patient, and they will follow the plan.
I believe that we are teaching teenagers to develop the necessary skills for the future. Working remotely in a home office or as a freelancer requires discipline. So, the same skills we need to use in order to handle the challenges of a home office are the same skill set teenagers are developing during these difficult times.
Don’t forget, you can do it!
These are trying times, yet organizing and structuring our day with our teenagers will give us a chance to get on with our work. The day plan gives our teenagers structure yet allows them the freedom to decide on the blocks of the plan. The latter is especially vital for teenagers who need to have their wishes heard. Hang in there, keep your hair, it will be over soon. I’m definitely open to hearing any ideas from our expat community. We need to unite more than ever. ✊
