What can I do to look after myself? Expand If you don’t look after yourself, you can’t look after anyone else. It’s more important now than ever to keep your fuel tank topped up by doing things that bring you joy, comfort and reassurance. Ironically it’s not easy, but it is genuinely important. There are some basic things which make a real difference. Here’s some simple advice: If your children are old enough, try setting aside specific blocks of time to do something you love, or just to do nothing. Let your family know that you’re ‘out of office’ at that time. Let yourself off the hook. Prioritise things that really matter. If you don’t mind about a few wrinkles, let the ironing go. Get outside. Follow the rules but get as much fresh air as you safely can. Exercise. Try out some of online classes that have become free to use. Start that Couch to 5k running programme you’ve been meaning to get round to. Obviously make sure you stay a safe distance from others. Eat well. Follow a proper bedtime routine. You may have noticed that even though you might be less active than usual, you’re very tired by the end of the day. It’s not surprising – it’s very hard work, keeping the ship afloat at the moment. Your brain needs to know that night time is sleep time, so stick to the usual night time rituals. Keep up your social life. Learn how to use Zoom. It’s a free video calling app that lets you video chat to a group of people at the same time.
What can I do to promote my family’s physical health during this lockdown period? Expand There are some fantastic online exercise videos – some live, some pre-recorded. Many that were formerly subscription only have been opened up to all for free. Here are some of the best: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAxW1XT0iEJo0TYlRfn6rYQ Oti Mabuse Dance Classes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC58aowNEXHHnflR_5YTtP4g Joe Wicks PE- https://www.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1 Diversity Dance https://20dv.co.uk/ Davina Mccall workouts, health and wellness platform: https://ownyourgoalsdavina.com/ Cosmic Kids Yoga - https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga Down Dog Yoga: https://www.downdogapp.com/ We also add ideas regularly to our social media channels, so make sure you are following us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Anything you can do to keep moving is great. Playing Wii sport, gardening, housework – it all makes a difference to our bodies and our minds. Someone even ran a marathon on his balcony
What can I do to promote relationships within our family during the stress of social isolation and lockdown? Expand Relationships are being forced to change within families and the nurture resources we are presenting should give you ideas on supporting those relationships. Look out for our members’ webinars on topics like Therapeutic Parenting. Our Forum and our Helpline are all prepared and ready to give relationship skills advice and support. We are promoting links to other resources that have a relational focus too.
What can I do to support my child with worry, sadness, loneliness and loss during this Covid-19 situation? Expand Adoption UK have a collection of advice suggestions and resources that you might want to consider for your family to promote mental and emotional wellbeing during this period. On our website, you can find a page of resources for managing difficult feelings here: www.adoptionuk.org/managing-anxiety And some ideas for looking after yourself here: www.adoptionuk.org/self-care We are also regularly sharing resources and ideas across our social media channels.