The last year has been a difficult time for all of us, with our lives turned upside down and our world suddenly becoming much smaller. All of our kids must be given credit for how they have adapted, and tried their best to stay positive during these long months of lockdown, while they are missing their friends, their schools, their sports, their trips and so much of their normality.
Until this situation comes to an end, we have no choice but to make the best of the circumstances and try to make the time we are spending together at home into something positive. Since the start of the first lockdown in March last year, families have been spending more time together, particularly with many parents now working from home.
James Villas did some research to look into the effects on the UK lockdown on children and families, and find out the trends of exactly how life has changed overall since our first lockdown began back in March 2020, which you can see in the infographic below…
As you can see, with 61% more parents working from home, the time spent together with family has drastically increased compared to 2019. Of course this is not without it’s challenges, as juggling homeschooling, home working and general life is certainly a balancing act at times. However, we have found that since working from home, and having no commute, that we do get more family time as the commute would previously take between 2 and 3 hours a day door to door, and the kids Dad would be working abroad a couple of weeks a month in the pre-lockdown times. So, with his office being just upstairs now, that does allow more time for the whole family to get together and play games, or have movie night, or relax together with a takeaway.
Some of our best memories of Summer 2020 during the lockdown would be water fights in the garden, movie night in the garden when we set up a projector outside, and the kids setting up some epic obstacle courses together in the back garden.
The research also shows there has been lots of things missing in our collective 2020 too such as trips to the beach, wildlife parks, and of course seeing friends. We sincerely hope that we can regain these things as soon as possible. We have all been dreaming about having our days out back and we just cannot wait. If you need some ideas of what to do with the little ones once this is all over check out Outdoorsy Days for some ideas. One of the things that my kids actually miss the most is travelling, since this is normally one of the ways we spend our best quality time together. We are all dreaming of the places that we can go together as soon as travel is available once again, and after the last year, I am determined that we will take every opportunity to see and do things once the opportunities open up.
It’s great to see kids with positivity and 84% of the children taking part in James Villas research believe that they will go on holiday in 2021. Let’s hope this comes true for all of us!
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
The last year has indeed been challenging, but your research shows how families have found ways to spend more quality time together during lockdown. Water fights, movie nights, and obstacle courses in the garden sound like wonderful memories. Let’s stay positive and hopeful for future travels and adventures together!