Socially isolating with a 2 year old and newborn survival tips please

[FullOfCake]

It's day one for us. We decided to pull our two year old from the childminder yesterday. I am not prepared e.g. I didn't stock up at the shops of jigsaws etc. DH now working from home so I'm trying to keep them occupied. It's 8.30am and I'm feeling completely overwhelmed.

Is your 2 year old in a routine? IF so, stick to it. Try to make a timetable. Can you walk anywhere nice nearby? Make sure you get fresh air each day. Order some craft / toys online. Bath toys. Take it a day at a time. In hourly segments.

I've got a 2 year old and a 5 month old so I feel your pain. My advice is plan as much as you can, and try to get out for a walk at least once a day. If you dont have symptoms you're fine to go out into open spaces, are there any fields or parks nearby where dc can run around?

There are loads and loads of craft and activity ideas on pinterest you can do with household items, for example we made playdough with store cupboard ingredients last weekend, which was fun. You can print pictures online to colour in too.

Also simple things are effective. DH was making a pie and gave 2 year old some scraps of pastry to 'help' with, that kept him occupied for ages.

Go through the kids toys, take some away and dig out some of the ones they havent played with much recently. In a couple of weeks rotate them so that there is still some novelty.

Now is a good time to plant seeds as well so maybe get the older one involved with that, grow some cress or other veggies if you have a bit of space.

Dont feel bad about putting on the tv for a little while, if you're worried there are loads of youtube videos for counting, alphabet and kids exercises and dances so it's not all paw patrol and peppa.

Good luck, I'm expecting to be in the same position some time in the next few days.

We are a week and a half into social distancing that then became quarantine on Sunday after potentially coming into contact with a case at work. We are in Slovakia and the rules are way more specific here so there is no going out at all and no contact with anyone irl except ourselves. We have a small flat that's very open plan and I am teaching my full timetable online which my just turned 2 year old dc is fascinated by! We are lucky that I have hoarded English books which can be difficult to get, my dc enjoys sitting with me drawing and she plays nicely with her toys so we have made our balcony a kind of outdoor lay room and we cycle through those activities throughout the day. Let's get real though - she is now a YouTube addict as we have to do anything it takes to keep her quiet during my teaching time I am not comfortable with it but I will say that over the last couple of days she has started counting, saying her colours and her speech is even better than it was - maybe tech is not the evil we've been guilted into believing that is????

After school we bake and cook and we do fitness online together which oddly she hates and we video call a lot of people - something that she was very used to with living so far away from her granny and grampa and cousins and aunties - and that takes up a lot of time. We have bath and bed at the same time each day and we get up and get dressed each day and do all of the chores that we used to do. I don't think that she thinks that anything is any different except that we get more time together and I can do chores in between lessons and when I would be commuting so have more downtime with her in the evening!

Ditch the guilt, don't be too hard on yourself, make sure to move around plenty and keep reminding yourself that this isn't easy so we don't have to be Mary poppies at all times!