I know. It’s been quiet here. I meant to write more often about what to do with kids during lockdown and about how I feel. Truth is, it’s been hard. Every day is nearly the same and I have lost track of time. I am not even sure how many weeks or months the children are home now. All I know is that it’s long. Too long.
I see changes in my kids I don’t want to see. One of my boys is now afraid of other people. He is worried he will make them sick if they come too close. So when we see someone we know in the park, he runs the opposite direction. My other son is upset often. He finds it difficult to talk about this, but does mention often he misses his school friends and wants to visit his cousins again.
Their behavior is changing. They get cheeky very often now, act out, will suddenly not listen to reason anymore or totally ignore us. Some attitude is expected with kids any age, but the way they are now is definitely caused by the lack of challenges and change. Even the most devoted parent with all the time and patience in the world can not offer what they need. Children need to see other children, they need that specific interaction. And my boys are the lucky ones, as twins they always have a playmate the same age around. There are so many other children with no siblings, or siblings in a different age. No more details needed, anyone who has children staying home right now knows: they suffer.
So I am counting the days till school starts again. Or till there can be playgroups or something similar again. I am still hopeful there will be some weeks left in this school year. Today they made some statements that make it seem more likely to happen.
Play areas in Belgium will finally reopen on Wednesday. So I could give them something to look forward to. The smile on their face was priceless.