How to stop your kids driving you mad in lockdown – 11th to 15th April 2020

This 2020 Coronavirus lockdown is really tough for everyone, restricting us to our homes, limiting us to accessing nature in our gardens or during walks. For many people, we have a garden we can sit in and leafy roads we can walk along whilst taking our daily one hour allowance of freedom.

Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig on a Lockdown Walk Copyright Mya-Rose Craig

Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig with Chris Packham on Colledge Green, Bristol Copyright Mya-Rose Craig

However, for many people, life under lockdown is even more difficult. Now think about children living in deprivation in our inner cities, especially those who are Visible Minority Ethnic (VME).  Parents waiting for universal credit to come through so children living off ‘free school meal’ food hampers.

At home with a number of siblings in overcrowded homes, with no space for any kind of quiet contemplation or even just your own space. Parents without the skills to home school, no computers, no printers, no paper, no paint, no felt tips or crayons.  No garden, concreted drive at the front of the house, broken washing machines left on the pavements, only built up roads to walk along and now banned from entering parks. It is really important for everyone especially primary age children to get outside daily, to take in the air, watch the clouds,  to absorb nature – the trees, grass and flowers. As humans were are part of nature and have developed to live as part of it. It is really important for your physical and mental health to relax, calm and reduce anxiety & fears and that is exactly what connecting with nature helps us do. There are ways that you and your children can connect with nature, in any small green space, balcony or even out of the window.

Day Eleven – 11th April 2020
For day eleven, look up and watch the sun go down.  Go out to your garden or green space or even look out of your window.

Day Twelve – 12th April 2020
For day twelve, I did some foraging by collecting nettles to make nettle soup which even I think it delicious.  You can either hold them by their stalks or wear gloves.  This is a really easy BBC recipe http://bit.ly/1YpeoQN.  Or go foraging with an older person, who like my Nanu (gran) will point out lots of things growing in the wild that you can cook in the same way as spinach, for instance making pakoras.
Find out more about foraging from this Muslim Kenyan forager http://www.msitu.co.uk/

Day Thirteen – 13th April 2020

For day thirteen, feed the birds.  Cut up an apple or other fruit or take out leftover boiled rice and spread it in a green space.  Don’t put out too much out, as you don’t want the food to go mouldy or attract rodents.

Then if you can, stand back and watch the birds come and feed. The longer you carry on feeding, then the more birds will know about the food and will come to feed.  If you put the food on the ground, then you will get ground feeding birds like Blackbirds, Robins and Dunnock.

You could spike fruit into bushes to attract different birds.

Day Fourteen – 14th April 2020
For day fourteen, how about dancing outside in an open space.  Dancing with a family member is even more fun!

Tribe of Doris camp

Day Fifteen – 15th April 2020
For day fifteen, lie on some grass and feel the sun on your face – do it anywhere that is a clean and safe space but not in a busy local park or green space.