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Covid-19 - Ways to keep active and
healthy at home
18.03.20
THE arrival of Covid-19
has brought us to a serious time, whether for health
care workers on the front lines, small businesses
struggling to stay afloat, or for parents balancing
working from home with looking after children
without their normal outlet of playing with friends.
There’s no doubt that with school closures and the
step-up in social distancing, families are facing a
challenging time ahead.
It would be understandable to resort to endless
screen-time and treats to keep children happy,
particularly while you’re juggling roles as a parent
and working from home or trying to deal with other
difficulties the new situation has brought. Here are
some helpful tips from Safefood for some daily wins
to help keep you, and the kids, that little bit
healthier and hopefully, happier, in the weeks
ahead. |
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• Handwashing is the
best way to protect you and your family from
illness. We have all been learning about what good
handwashing habits are and it’s important to keep
these up. You can find practical, how-to videos for
younger and older children on
www.safefood.eu
where you’ll also find ‘Rufus the Handwashing Hero’
– he’s great for teaching your little ones all about
handwashing.
• Try to get out in the fresh air as often as
possible. The key advice is to stay in your family
unit; children shouldn’t play with other children
but there is nothing at the moment to stop you
getting out as a family for a walk. Just stick to
the latest advice on social distancing.
• Try to limit screen-time if possible; this would
include all devices with a screen such as TVs,
computers, smart phones, laptops, tablets and game
consoles. We know screen-time isn’t easy to keep a
lid on at the moment but try to set certain times
for screens and agree these with the kids. For
children under two, try to avoid screen time
completely. For those aged between two and five, try
to keep screen time to one hour each day. And for
children over five, agree clear limits and a good
guide is no more than two hours each day. As many
children have been given online homework to
complete, that should be considered as separate
screen time.
• It could be very easy to fall into a habit of
unhealthy snacking while you’re all at home. We have
loads of ideas for making easy, healthy snacks that
the kids could help out with – just visit
www.makeastart.ie
for lots of healthy snack ideas.
• These unusual times present an opportunity to
teach children a bit more about food. If you can,
try to do a few cooking or baking projects while
they are off. Get younger kids involved in food prep
and mixing foods, setting and clearing the table.
Consider putting older kids in charge of making
dinner if you are trying to work from home. You can
also try our simple, family-friendly recipes by
visiting SafefoodTV on YouTube. As well as making
food together, reading recipes and understanding
quantities can also help kids with their numeracy
and literacy skills while school is off.
• When you’re stuck for activities, especially if
it’s raining outside, you could try our active play
ideas, and bring back old-school retro games for
your family. Check out some great play ideas for
inside, or out, by visiting our START hub at
www.makeastart.ie
– you’ll find them under ‘Pause for Play’. And if
you are playing outside, remember to stick to the
latest advice on social distancing.
• While weather dependent, if you have access to a
garden you could roll up your sleeves as a family
get the garden back in shape after winter. You could
even sow seeds for herbs and vegetables if you have
any, introducing them to the idea of growing their
own food. If you don’t have a garden, you can do
this in pots on a window ledge.
• Last but not least, try to keep the children’s
normal routine around sleep. This will help their
mental and physical health during these strange and
testing times. You can find advice on getting good
night’s sleep on our
www.makeastart.ie
webpage.
For more information on being healthy and active as
a family, you can visit
www.safefood.eu
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