In this difficult time of social isolation, many of us are struggling to balance our relationship with food. It can be tempting to resort to comfort eating or bribe the kids with their favourite treats for a few minutes of peace and quiet. But, says Heather Leeson, Nutritional Therapist at The Wellness Crew, it’s important to avoid establishing habits that will be difficult to change in the longer term. Instead, let’s take the opportunity to try some new kitchen projects, and make the most of the social aspects of cooking and eating together as a household; a pleasure we can still enjoy.

Eating Together 

Families who eat together tend to have stronger and more open relationships, with children enjoying an increased sense of wellbeing and security. During this stressful time, it’s a great opportunity to chat, share worries or make plans. One of the small benefits of our current situation is that we have a greater opportunity to spend time together, communicate and strengthen relationships at mealtimes. For families with kids, eating together can be an important part of making lockdown more normal, allaying fears and chatting about concerns. Where you can, try to encourage the whole family to sit down together away from devices and distractions at least for once per day.

Make Better Choices

Making healthy choices to support our mental and physical health and immune systems is important now more than ever. Of course, choosing wholegrains and including lots of vegetables and fruit in our diet alone is not going to protect us from COVID-19. However, these wholefoods help to provide the vitamins, minerals, fibre and phytochemicals that we need to support stress and immune function and keep us as healthy as possible. If you can, we recommend eating a healthy balanced plate at each meal, made up of one quarter complex carbs like wholegrain bread, brown rice or potato with their skins on, and one quarter good quality protein like fish, dairy, nuts, seeds, eggs, pulses or small amounts of red meat. Half the plate should be filled with vegetables, at least at lunch and dinner, to give us a chance of reaching our five daily portions.

Limit Treats

It can be tempting to eat more treats or drink alcohol as a way of dealing with the heightened stress and worry of the current situation. But using food or drink as a comfort is a vicious circle and a difficult habit to break. It can also displace the foods we should be eating to keep us healthy. Limit the amount of treats you bring into the house and keep them out of immediate reach, ideally in a different room to your kitchen or wherever is currently serving as your office. Set some boundaries to establish healthier food relationships, like opting for snack-size treats or only having chocolate or alcohol at the weekend. Consider non-food related treats you could indulge in now or work towards when things get back to normal.

Baking Projects with a Healthier Twist

Many of us, especially those of us with kids at home, may already have enjoyed the benefit of baking projects. While the occasional cake or bun is fine (and anything homemade is likely to be tastier and better for us), you can have too much of a good thing. If you or your kids enjoy baking, try some healthy food projects instead. Try making porridge bread or traditional Irish soda bread, using up overripe bananas with a healthier take on banana bread, sprouting seeds or encouraging your kids to plan and make a meal. Or try a new healthy recipe every week yourself. That’s a positive outcome to carry forward when things get back to normal.

We don’t know how long this will continue. But let’s take the opportunity to use this time to learn or teach our kids better cooking skills, put some healthier eating habits in place and make the most of one of life’s great pleasure – our food.

While we get to grips with recent changes and adapt to new behaviours, writes Parent Coach Aoife Lee, lots of parents understandably feel overwhelmed by the daily juggle! Remember though, we’re all in the same boat, and while we may not be able to control the numerous changes asked of us, it’s important to look at what we can influence in our lives.  We can start by putting a plan of action in place.

1.    Have a Flexible Routine

Working from home is familiar to some, but not everyone. With it comes discipline and keeping daily needs and tasks as predictable as possible. Children cope a lot better when they know what’s going on; it creates consistency and a sense of normality.  When there’s structure around the day, they feel secure and are therefore happier in themselves.  At the same time, it’s important that we don’t put ourselves under too much pressure to ‘make everything right’. As long as we set the alarm for the same time each morning, encourage regular mealtimes and keep bedtimes as we normally would during the school week, we’ll have a strong framework to go on. This adjustable structure encourages discipline from the time we wake, but it also helps children feel safe.

2.    Create Your Workspace 

If you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated workspace at home, decide on a simple agreement like "if the door is closed, please don't come in. If it's open, I'm free to chat or help!". Remember that children too are probably finding it difficult to understand what’s going on. They’re missing their friends and school routines. Keeping communication open and explaining what you’re doing will help them to understand why you’re not always available to play! If you don’t have that independent space, setting up in a corner of the kitchen or dining area where you can see the kids but they can’t touch your work gear is ideal.

3.    Operate in Shifts with your Partner

If there are babies or toddlers that need more attention than an older child, it’s worth considering operating in shift work. So, while one parent focuses on their job for a few hours, the other keeps everything going with the kids. Speaking to many parents in recent days, they find doing this helps with their productivity while easing feelings of guilt. Make the most of the time you do have together by playing, painting, drawing or just chatting about your day.

4.    Manage Your Time  

While every person’s role may vary, this unusual time means that flexibility and understanding are a must.  If you can, prioritise the tasks that need your undivided attention when the baby is napping during the day or the kids are in bed at night. Alternatively, get up an hour earlier in the mornings to get on top of things. 

5.    Schedule Breaks Outside 

Whether this is with the kids or by yourself, you want to avoid burnout. Having some form of exercise is crucial, even if it’s a socially distant walk around the block! Exercise feeds the brain and is essential if you want to be more effective and efficient. It’s important to be flexible of course, so if it’s a rainy day, why not opt for an online exercise routine – there are lots to choose from on YouTube.

6.    Eat Healthy 

Ensure you have food that you’re proud of in the kitchen. It's all too easy to fall into grazing on sugary snacks during times like these.  Food is fuel for the brain, and healthy snacks that are full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants nourish us. Keep the treats to a minimum and meals at regular times. 

7.    Work Vs the Kids

As you get your head around what’s working for you, what’s helpful, what you need to focus on or change, it’s also a good time to look at when to be switched off and fully present with the kids.  They love our attention, and the more quality time we spend with them, the more it strengthens the relationship. Acknowledge and praise when they listen, when they follow a direction, when siblings are being kind to one another!   When we pay attention to our children’s positive behaviours, it completely outweighs when we put all our energy into the negative ones.

8.    Be Honest with Yourself & Your Colleagues

Remember, you’re not the only working parent who has to end a call because the children need you.  What I’ve found helpful is telling the older ones before I pick up the phone that I need some time without any interruptions. This is the reality right now for so many around the world; for most parents, our colleagues have that mutual understanding and respect for the current juggling of work and family life – you are not on your own.

9.    Keep the Kids Busy

There are some great resources and activities that the children can get involved in that don’t require our undivided attention.

•    Go Noodle: Have a huge selection of free videos, including dancing, exercise, meditation, reflection activities. Something for everyone. https://family.gonoodle.com/

•    Digital Scavenger Hunt 
This is a brilliant app for older children who love a challenge.
www.actionbound.com

•    Online Coding for older children 
Lots of primary school children are coding now – this website is an opportunity to continue at home – keeping the mind busy and active is always a plus. https://www.codeadvantage.org/online-coding-classes-for-kids

•    Art for Kids Hub on YouTube is absolutely brilliant.

10.    Be Kind to Yourself

We all know that this time will pass, and we’ll look back and wonder how we did it all! We have to make significant changes for everyone’s gain, and for now it’s about managing as best we can.  You are human, and taking this time to look at what works best for you in your job and family is the main thing.  Ask for help if you need it, keep communication open at home with your partner, the children and your team.  Take time out to recharge the batteries.  Stay safe and healthy.

Aoife Lee won ‘Best in Education’ at the recent Family Friendly Ireland Awards for Find out more at her website, or on her Instagram and Twitter pages.

Amid the current and ever-changing events with Covid-19 many of us have found ourselves now working from home unexpectedly. While it may bring flexibility, this change in working conditions can have its pitfalls.

We spoke to workplace wellness consultant Carrie Budds of Quokka Wellness for her advice on how to keep on top of your work and maintain decent work/life balance when working from home. Try out some of Carrie’s tips to help you stay productive and motivated today:

Have a dedicated work space & work time

Many of don’t have the luxury of additional space for an office, you may have to find other ways like working from the kitchen table. Whatever your situation, it is important to have a space that you dedicate to work during working hours. Try to not make it your bed though – it’s a slippery slope going from doing a few hours work to spending the whole day there!

If you are sitting at a desk or area that has not been set up ergonomically it can hard to do long periods of desk work. Likewise when working off a laptop to do detailed work or data entry. If possible, use a separate keyboard and mouse. If you have a TV screen you can also use that as an extra monitor for detailed work or to help your eyes. Use sturdy books or boxes to set up your working station so that it suits your work, keeping your screen at eye-level.

And remember – focus on your work when you’re at your desk, and set yourself dedicated break times for other activities and tasks so you don’t get distracted.

Don’t leave mealtimes to chance

Working through lunch is not a good idea, and you will not be as productive as you think you are. Make sure you don’t eat in front of your screen, move to another area or even the other end of the table to have your meals. This ensures that you are getting a real break from emails, work etc.

Also don’t forget to eat regularly (but not too often!). People often go one of two ways when they work from home. Type A people get so engrossed in their work that they forget all concept of space and time and meals go out the window. Or type B people take every opportunity for a snack break. So it’s best to acknowledge which type you are and plan accordingly. If you’re a type A, make up some meals or snacks that are easy to grab and eat so that you won’t have to think much about your mealtimes when you’re engrossed in work. Type B’s should also plan ahead, by having healthy snacks, herbal teas and meal ingredients available that they can use when the regular snack urge hits.

Manage your online time well

If your laptop stays open on the table, chances are you will almost certainly go back to it during the evening, impeding on relaxation and time with your family. Once your working day is over, shut down your laptop or desktop and put it out of sight. Same goes for your work phone and work email, wherever possible. People often feel guilty when they work from home, like it’s a luxury that they have to make up for by working longer days or being more available. Try to avoid this mindset as it can make working from home much more difficult than it needs to be.

You may also have less time in meetings and more time at your screen when working from home. It is important then to manage screen time during the working day as much as possible. A few options are to schedule calls, which you take away from your screen. Do some paper-based reading if possible. You may have the option to print some content instead of looking at it on the screen.

Have regular breaks, and get fresh air

The risks associated with prolonged sitting are well documented. Sitting for long periods of time without moving can have an impact on both our cardiovascular health as well as our posture. Research has shown that moving even for just 2 mins every hour can help to reduce these risks. However, when we work from home, we often don’t have those external prompts to let us know to move – these prompts could be others taking their breaks, or going to meetings. I recommend setting up a reminder in your email calendar or on your phone to move each hour so you don’t forget.

It can also be too easy to get completely immersed in work when working from home. You may even feel like you’re getting that bit of “extra time” you crave to tie up some loose ends, as you don’t have the additional time spent on your commute. But don’t forget that concentration levels are finite, and we all need breaks. Once or twice a day, get outside - even for just a quick 10 minute walk. Not only will you concentrate better afterwards, you will also break up your sitting time.

Keep in touch

Isolation can be a real issue for those who work remotely on a regular basis and it is something that you have to actively manage. Although in current circumstances we cannot meet face-to-face, meeting virtually should be encouraged when you're working from home. Schedule regular calls with your colleagues/manager/work buddies to catch up with them and go through any issues you're having. And don't forget you can Skype, Zoom or call friends too. A virtual cuppa is a decent (if not perfect) replacement for a real one!

Finally, remember that this is temporary. Whatever your circumstances, working from home on a full-time basis is unlikely to last for an extended period of time.