I asked my eldest how he felt about lockdown in 2020 and he genuinely seemed okay about it. Naturally, he missed his friends but otherwise he seemed more focused on the fun things we did as a family in lockdown. I kept looking at ways to make lockdown more exciting. Such as camping in the garden and toasting marshmallows and watching movies on the projector outside wrapped up in blankets with hot chocolate.

Children seem adept at finding the positives in a difficult situation. Plus, they tend to follow our lead so if we try and stay upbeat about things they naturally follow suit. Another thing that worked for us was creating an after-lockdown jar which we started to fill with all the things we would like to do when lockdown was lifted! It helped my boys realize that this situation would improve one day. We would have our freedom back to do the things we missed the most. I soon saw that the main thing we were all missing aside from family and friends was holidays! We hope to make up for lost time later in the year, I better start saving!

Interestingly James Villa Holidays recently worked alongside YouGov to survey children in UK to find out a bit more on their thoughts on lockdown in 2020. They summarized the results in a kids’ views of lockdown infographic which I have included sections I found interesting  below.

Spent More Time With Their Parents

The survey found that 76% of kids spent more time with their parents during lockdown. This is a big positive as we had a chance to reconnect with our children and create lovely memories together. That time together is so precious. Usually we are too busy caught up in the daily grind to be able to have a slower pace of life. Without the commute to work or the fact you had been furloughed meant those moments were no longer passing you by. Children grow up so quick it has been a blessing to have that quality time together.

Activities

I did chuckle when I saw that 54% went on more walks. I think walking sums up quite a bit of our 2020, so you can bundle us into that statistic. The dog in particular thought it was fantastic! Yes I also noticed my boys playing more on their consoles. However it was a great way to stay connected with their friends. It helped tackle loneliness for many children. Technology meant they could keep in touch, laughing and chatting as if there was no distance between them.

The Little Things Became The Big Things

Children found joy in the smallest of things, just having breakfast together as a family was special! For my boys its been the homemade pizza nights we have started doing. You don’t need to spend a fortune to create lasting memories.

Holidays

The James Villa survey found that 84% of kids thought they would go on holiday in 2021. I love their optimism and will be keeping fingers tightly crossed that holidays will resume shortly. Apparently holidays can make our children smarter so I will use that as an excuse to book LOTS more just in case they have fallen behind with homeschooling with me at the helm. Nothing to do with the fact the boys and I are long overdue an adventure… okay everything to do with that!

These are the destinations the kids in the survey were most keen to head off on a holiday. My boys would most like to get back to the USA, but I think we would happily go anywhere right now. A change is as good as a rest after all!

Why not ask your children what they have most enjoyed in lockdown, their answers will probably surprise you. Writing my blog post about our favourite moments of 2020 made us all realize it wasn’t so bad after all.