Only the Lonely - Helping Kids Cope with Loneliness in Covid One Year In

Molly is normally a ray of sunshine. She is the most genuinely positive person I have met in my life. As an aside, I don't know where she came from. Because of this luminous disposition, it's particularly noticeable when she's feeling down.

This morning, Molly came downstairs in a complete and total funk. When I asked her what was wrong she tried to brush it off. After some light prodding she started talking about how much she missed her friends, how it has been nearly a year without seeing anyone, and how she was lonely. 

While we were able to do some outdoor play dates with masks when the weather was warmer and COVID numbers were lower in our community, she hasn't had much outdoor time with other kids beyond her brother since late fall.

For the most part we've been good about trying to keep her connected, but even I must admit, in the dog days of winter we have been less good about scheduling social interaction (for both ourselves and the kids).

 Now that we're seeing the temperatures rise and regions open up from lockdown it's time to get back outside and safely plan some outdoor time with friends. It's also a good time to plan some virtual experiences with friends for days when the weather is nasty or in case of some further restrictions in our community.

Here are some ideas to get your kids connecting virtually:

• Virtual arts and crafts sessions (the kids recently attended an amazing virtual birthday party where the kids crafted the same thing at the same time and were able to show it off). It just takes a little pre-planning.
• Online or distanced instructional painting classes where you take chat breaks with a friend online to compare notes. Molly recently tried one with her cousin from Pinot Pallette and loved it.
• Online game sessions. All the kids in grade four are really big into Among Us right now. Us grownups have loved euchre on Trickster Cards as well as a Pictionary Game we found.
• Virtual book club. We've been reading and lending graphic novels to friends and then scheduling a chat to talk about the book(s).
• Virtual baking challenges. A friend created a group to showcase Groundhog Day themed baking. It was fun to share photos with friends and see what other people made. Bonus points for doing a no contact food exchange with friends and loved ones.
• Old fashioned board games. I've heard successful reports of kids playing Guess who and Battleship together on Facetime calls, provided that kids have the same game boards as each other.
• Send each other post cards, drawings, & letters.

Here are some ideas for some socially distanced outdoor play:

• Neighbourhood scavangerhunt. We did one for Halloween that worked quite well and a friend just hosted a successful distanced outdoor spy mission.
• Geocaching
• Go on a hike together
• Old fashioned playground play
• Backyard "camp fire" (kids can bring their own materials to make Smores)
• Make nature art together and gather up supplies on a walk (like this example).
• Bike ride (for older kids)
• Backyard or Driveway outdoor movie theatre
• Sidewalk chalk driveway murals
• Photo scavenger hunt
• Make your own mini golf course

How are you keeping your family engaged with other people while socially distancing?