{"id":362860,"date":"2022-10-10T15:18:59","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T13:18:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/?p=362860"},"modified":"2022-10-10T15:48:59","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T13:48:59","slug":"loadshedding-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/parenting\/being-present\/loadshedding-blues\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheat loadshedding blues with your family"},"content":{"rendered":"

Loadshedding :\u00a0 make the most of it<\/h2>\n

It’s funny and yet sad that our kids are forced to get used to this kind of normal. Hence I decided to turn our lemons into lemonade by making the best out of this. So whenever we don’t have power, I\u00a0 make the most of those hours.<\/p>\n

Less screentime<\/h3>\n

I have two daughters aged 5 and 2, so the older one has always understood the fact that power cuts are a norm in our country . I was thinking the youngest one would have trouble adjusting to that but surprisingly she didn’t struggle. When she sees the TV going off and all the lights off she shouts “lecticity is gone mama” (that’s how she pronounces electricity and it’s so funny for me)<\/p>\n

My kids love the TV so when there is loadshedding it means NO screen time. I let them do free play with their toys or just let them play outside. Before it was a struggle just to switch the TV off without a fight, this way it is much easier to control<\/div>\n
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More me-time<\/h3>\n
I have also intentionally started using those loadshedding hours as me-time. Sometimes my days are so busy that I serve the whole family and neglect myself. Only to go to bed exhausted, down and out. So during loadshedding I read a book or an article or I watch my favorite YouTube channels that I would have downloaded on my phone. Or I just take a nap because usually after those power naps I wake up feeling refreshed.<\/div>\n
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Go for a walk<\/h3>\n
Take walks with your kid(s) Usually a walk can be from 15-20 minutes depending on the pace of your kids. If you want to spend more time walking then you need to make it fun by letting your little ones identify colours outside, let them pick flowers along the way etc.<\/div>\n

Quiet time<\/h3>\n
Use those loadshedding hours as quiet time for your little ones. Let them do activities or games in their rooms unsupervised. You will be surprised how much they can do by themselves.<\/div>\n

Nap time<\/h3>\n
If you are a parent struggling with sleep training your kid especially in the afternoon , this could be the right time. During this time there are no distractions and there is less noise. So take this time to let your child take a nap.<\/div>\n

Bonding sessions<\/h3>\n
We live in a busy scheduled world and sometimes we don’t get the chance to bond with our kids. My oldest usually asks me “mommy can we talk” and when I say about what, she says “anything”. That tells me that my child values bonding with me just by talking to me. So having our wifi down because of loadshedding means no access to phones and TV. And it means more time to talk, affirm, share thoughts and just relax.<\/div>\n
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These are ways that have helped me cope with the power shortage problem that we are currently facing. Hopefully one day it will be a thing of the past and we will smile only at the lessons we learnt from the whole experience.<\/div>\n
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