Working Moms Share Tips for Making Most of Quarantine for Kids; Taurean Consulting Group CEO Suggests Virtual Tours, Games and Cooking
As families enter month two of quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some parents may still be struggling to find their stride when it comes to keeping kids engaged and entertained. Two Las Vegas Valley working moms recently shared tips for creating fun, bonding experiences while staying home on KTNV Channel 13:
VIDEO: Las Vegas valley families have fun, make time to bond at home https://www.ktnv.com/news/coronavirus/valley-families-having-fun-making-time-to-bond-at-home.
Sonia Petkewich, CEO and owner of Taurean Consulting Group, said school work comes first for her three kids, adding that it took about a week to get a system in place for each of them.
When Petkewich’s work is finished and her children have wrapped up their school day, it’s time for family fun, which includes visiting places online, tackling puzzles, playing games and cooking together.
“They’re visiting exciting new places through online tours,” she said. “There are online virtual tours of museums and parks and zoos. Finding this content can keep kids busy in an educational way.”
The kids have also explored their creative side with sidewalk chalk and gotten into board games. A neighbor introduced the family to a game that Petkewich says has her kids hooked: “It can go on for a lot of hours. This game has been going on for a week.”
Cooking together has also created some special family moments, with each of Petkewich’s children picking a day to cook. “My youngest made spaghetti and meatballs,” she said. “My oldest made Shepherds Pie. My middle child made pulled pork.”
Not only has cooking been fun to do as a family, it’s also provided an opportunity for her children to mature: “Now they have an appreciation … they have to do the clean-up part, too,” Petkewich said.
Jessica Summerhays, a High Fitness instructor and a team member for Unforgettable Coatings, Inc., has five kids. Normally their schedules all conflict, but quarantine has brought them closer together and given them time to bond by building forts, having sleepovers in each other’s rooms and performing dance routines for TikTok.
“They’re just doing things that they would never normally do,” Summerhays said. “I think I’ve learned that being busy is overrated. We need to slow it down a little bit.”