Something like a pandemic leaves us all feeling a bit helpless and defeated. What can we possibly do against an enemy that is literally in the air we breathe? We cannot see the coronavirus with the naked eye. And none of us are walking around with microscopes powerful enough to detect it. We don’t know when it is directly attacking our family. We don’t know which of the people in a 20′ radius of our children is a carrier of the plague. We just send them off to school and hope against hope for the best.

That’s no way to live. That feels more like surrender. While you don’t have a handy way to detect the coronavirus, you are not helpless. There are many things you can do to protect your family. One of the most important things you can do is to persevere. Do not give up on them. They need you more than ever.

You don’t have to be a doctor or a superhero to keep your family safe. That doesn’t mean that nothing bad will ever happen to the people you love. It is inevitable. But when bad things happen, you are strong enough to deal with them as they come. In the meantime, here are some of the things you can do to keep those bad things at bay:

Plan for the Worst

One of the greatest pieces of wisdom you need to live by in a crisis is to hope for the best but plan for the worst. It might not be the coronavirus that takes you. But over a long enough timeline, we all must take a bow and leave the stage. The one thing completely within your control is how your family will be taken care of when that happens.

If you don’t have it already, no one needs to tell you that you need life insurance. You already know that. There might be a few things you don’t know such as, is life insurance taxable? Does being a smoker make you ineligible? How much more will you have to pay if you have a pre-existing condition? These are the kinds of questions you will need to resolve before choosing a policy. But don’t delay in getting those answers and making that choice.

There are too many stories to count where a young, healthy bread-winner passed unexpectedly and left the family with no way to carry on financially. One simple act can guarantee the protection of your family in the face of disaster. Don’t be someone else’s cautionary tale. Be the hero your family deserves.

Don’t Let Your Family Stay Inactive

You also know that it is time to get your family off the couch and back in action — any action. You just need to get creative about getting your family outside. If you don’t have a park in your neighborhood, drive to one in the city. Better yet, take them on a road trip and take a nature walk in the woods. Too cold? Grab a frisbee and do something more active. The grace period for sitting around and doing nothing has passed.

Throw Away the Junk Food

You have let the food situation get out of hand. You have gotten so used to ordering food delivery that you have forgotten how to make a healthy and tasty vegetarian dish from scratch. What you have to do is stop ordering the tacos and throw out the junk food that has accumulated in the fridge and the cabinets.

A lot of people have given themselves an extended grace period for eating poorly. When everything does get back to normal, families are going to find that everyone is 15 lb. overweight and a lot of people will be declared pre-diabetic. Take control of the situation right now before things get out of hand.

We are headed into the second year of the pandemic. The fact of the matter is it might not go away anytime soon. All grace periods must be canceled immediately. This is not the time to wallow in defeat. This is the time to be a leader and take action. Protect your family by getting life insurance, getting them moving, and taking a stand against junk eating. Stop worrying about what you can’t do and commit yourself to what is well within your grasp.

All parents worry about their children’s future and how they can secure it. Whether it’s creating a safe fund for them or making sure your family asset is protected, there are some things parents should pay attention to the most. Although this may seem like a simple and easy task, there are many factors you should look into when planning this. You need to do as much as you can on your own, but still learn when to call the professionals and let them handle everything else. These people know what needs to be done and can do things that will suit you and your family. Start by writing down all the things you wish to know, and then create a detailed list that will guide you through the process.

 

Start a fund

This is a very popular idea because parents generally believe that creating a fund is a great way to secure your child’s financial future. You can start doing that as soon as your child is born, or whenever you feel you’re ready to start saving. Although education is probably the main reason why these funds are created in the first place, this is also a great way to provide your kids with a decent amount of money in the future.

Maybe your children will want to invest money in a good business opportunity, start a business of their own, or move to another country. Whatever they do, this is a great opportunity to help them start a new chapter in their life. Thinking about their personal development is what you need to do in order to help them become more independent and learn more about the world.

 

An insurance policy

 

No matter how old your children are, they probably have no idea what a life insurance policy is. This is something we all keep ignoring our entire lives, until it’s too late, and it’s much better to think about our lifestyle and our habits in advance – at least before anything bad happens.

Most insurance policies cover a lot of things, and finding one that will suit your children the most is important. In addition to that, you can find good policies for the whole family and think about what you want to cover. Find an insurance company that has everything you need and ask for policies that you’ll be comfortable with. Ask your insurer to explain to you all the details and help you understand all the items listed in your policy.

 

Protect your asset

Our assets are among the most important things in our lives, and protecting them is a must. However, no matter how proud of our assets we really are, we don’t think about their future and what might happen to them.

If you want to make sure your children are in full control of your possession once you’re gone, you need to think about consulting professionals who deal with the safest asset protection solutions, as well as learning all the details of this process. It’s better to be prepared and make sure your children have all the rights when it comes to your property without having to deal with too many legal procedures. Any experienced lawyer will guide you through this process and help you and your children retain the full rights to everything you own.

 

Invest in something

 

Whether you want to invest in your own business or you’ve learnt about a great investment opportunity, this can be something that will ensure your child’s future. Make sure you explore different profitable investing opportunities in order to find the right one for you.

Although trust funds are among the best ideas in the world, sometimes it’s better to think outside the box and invest in a great business deal that will allow you to keep earning money in the years to come too. Think about different options, but make sure to check everything with a professional who can help you see the real potential of your investments.

 

From protecting your assets to making a few new investments, you need to do everything in your power to help your children have a great life without worrying about legal issues. Go through everything with them and get them involved in the process, especially when it comes to knowing their rights.

Kids are resilient. But even they are under stress from COVID, and as the pandemic continues, they are likely feeling even more big emotions than they did before.

As parents, we want to see them thrive but may be unsure how to support our children with all of the current COVID restrictions. Here are five ways to keep your child’s positive attitude during the pandemic:

Address your child’s fears

As adults, when we hear our child’s fears, we can be tempted to brush them off or quickly soothe them and move on. We know there is nothing to be frightened of, so we want our child to recognize this truth too.

The problem is, for the child, the feeling of fear is real. And if we step in and carry our children through the difficult childhood fears, they may not develop the emotional regulation skills they need to work through fear as they mature.

The benefit to allowing your child to handle their fear is they learn to rely on themself for emotional security.

When addressing fears about COVID, allow your child to express their fear. If they name it generally, work with them to help them voice their fear as precisely as they can. Getting to the “nugget” of fear will help you guide their thinking and help them learn to manage their fear.

As you discuss their fear, it’s crucial you can discuss without bringing in any of your own fears. Your child will see that fear and internalize it, making their fear stronger and more real.

Establish healthy routines

Most children already thrive on routines. They like the predictability of what comes next because it gives them a sense of power and control. That’s why they love reading the same book over and over again. The positive ending is just as satisfying the 50th time as it is the first time.

Establishing a healthy routine for your child will give them the structure they need to mentally and physically perform their best throughout the day.

If you’re juggling a lot, or you have never really had a routine, start small. A simple strategy would be to wake up at the same time each day and change into daytime clothes—no sleeping in until midday and no staying in PJs all day long.

Even this small routine will set up your children for better productivity. Treating the school day as naturally as possible will trigger their internal “go to work” mentality no matter their current schooling situation.

It would be great to incorporate some outdoor time into your routine to encourage even better physical and mental health. Especially for younger children, whose brains seem to short-circuit after too much sitting time, it is important to find several opportunities for recess or downtime. Even the routine of a short afternoon walk through the neighborhood will help.

Use positive discipline

When children have big emotions, their confusion about how to process them can erupt into “bad behavior.” And many children have big emotions about the pandemic, from not being in school to not being able to socialize normally with friends.

Add to the behavior the strong emotions parents are feeling, and you have a home situation ripe for raised voices and a lot of punishing.

The problem is, punishment doesn’t work. Because, for your child, negative attention is still attention.

Instead, work to use positive discipline. This means you actively plan and look for positive ways to interact with your child each day. The more positive attention they get from you, the less compelling negative attention is.

The added benefit is that when you use positive discipline, you can then ignore the negative behavior. Ignoring it cuts off the stimulus. You are giving no reaction to what they are doing. If they are getting attention from you in other, positive ways, they will quickly choose not to engage in negative behavior. And noticing their positive behavior is more fun for you too!

An important caveat to remember: make sure you intervene when their negative behavior results in them hurting themself or someone else.

Encourage good hygiene

We know that one of the best ways to keep us healthy from any disease is to practice good hygiene. Now it’s even more vital that we encourage our children to learn these habits.

While older children may easily understand why you’re asking them to wash their hands more often, younger children will not make the connection between COVID and clean hands as quickly.

Washing hands is a great way to introduce the concepts of why in a child-safe way. Cleaning to a fun song and laughing about getting any “yucky germs” off of their hands gives them a sense of easy empowerment. It is something they can do to help protect themselves and the people they love.

Set a good example for them

Our children are looking to us to see how to react to COVID. So, if you want your child to practice mitigating procedures while remaining as positive as possible about their experiences, then that’s what you need to work for too.

You don’t have to be perfect at it, but you need to show them the behavior you would like to see. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, make sure you take a break. No, you may not be able to get together for an evening with your close friends, but you can still go for a walk, take a long shower, or even sit on the front step with a mug of hot tea and enjoy the silence.

Showing your child how you manage your emotions will help them learn to manage theirs. You can encourage them to work through what they feel and think by letting them talk about their thoughts without interruption. A journal for kids is another excellent way to let them express themself.

By setting a good example for how to act and respond during stressful times and situations, you give your child the tools they need to respond appropriately to their stresses.

Conclusion

As the pandemic continues, we may need to reset our strategies and practices to detail the regulations. Parenting is challenging under ordinary circumstances, but it has become even more stressful now.

We want to help our children through the situation, and we can. We need to recognize how our behavior and reactions are serving our goal or not.