In this post, I talk about my gratefulness for having been given a lot of time to spend with our kids because of the work from home set up.
If there’s one good thing that the COVID-19 pandemic brought, it’s to give
us unlimited time with our children. You may not agree with me but this is
one of our ways of dealing with the pandemic.
Grateful Dad #9: Unlimited Playtime
With work from home arrangement being the norm these days, that means that we
can be with our kids in an instant whenever they need us. No more time wasted
preparing for work and commuting to and from the office.
As such, we took advantage of the opportunity to give our kids unlimited
playtime because we can take them out to play in the front yard in the morning
and in the afternoon. That’s not something that we can do except on weekends.
It’s also a good thing that we live in a compound so there is enough space to
run around and explore. Moreover, there are also other kids in the house who
can play with our two children.
The beauty about children is they never get tired of routines. Their curiosity
is endless; it’s like there’s always something new around them. They never run
out of leaves to pluck, stones to pick, twigs to collect, dirt to dig, and so
forth. Of course, they also have conventional toys like cars, action figures,
blocks, and many more but what they do look forward to is their unlimited
playtime outside.
I’ve also mentioned in a previous post that we turned to play therapy for our
first son when we found it hard to implement his occupational therapy home
program. We figured that since we could not force him to do his activities, we
might as well find an alternative that he will enjoy which is playtime.
As for our second son, we were just happy to be with him as he grew. I mean,
we literally watched him and his older brother grow before our very eyes. It’s
just that with our second son, we saw him grow from a newborn to a toddler
because he was just a little over three months old when the COVID-19 pandemic
hit.
It’s just a pity that we couldn’t take them outside yet. I remember our eldest
son enjoying his time whenever we took him to the mall. He loved escalators
and seeing the many things around him. The last time that we took him to the
mall, we went to an indoor playground. He enjoyed his time playing in the
different stations that we planned on taking him again the following week.
Problem is, Metro Manila was already on lockdown in the week that followed.
Anyway, we still go through the same routine everyday. I got used to it, too.
We’d be outside in the morning, then feed the kids, and then give them a bath.
Their yaya (nanny) will take them upstairs to play. I’d then do my
daily tasks. By mid-afternoon, they’d be outside again running endlessly, like
it’s their first time to go outdoors.
Having followed this routine for about two years now, I’m sure I’d miss it
terribly when we finally report to the office again or when we begin renting
again. Nevertheless, that’s an inevitable situation. Until then, we’ll just
continue to enjoy our unlimited playtime.
|
Flowers from our little boy |
To end this post, let me just tell an amusing story during one of our
afternoon play sessions. Our second son randomly plucked a clump of flowers,
went up to me, said “Dada,” and handed me the flowers.
Our sweet little Rafa giving me flowers. 😄 #sweetboy #toddler #toddlerlife #flowersfordad #parenting #thejoysofparenting pic.twitter.com/nWmn5CxitO
— Ivan Jose | Dad On The Move (@dadonthemoveph) February 16, 2022
He went back to the bush, picked another bunch of flowers, approached his mom,
said “Mimi,” and handed the flowers to his Mommy. Kids can be rascals one
moment and then become extra sweet in a snap. Oh well, that’s part of the joys
of parenthood.
How about you, what are you grateful for today? Feel free to share them in the
comment section below.
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If you want to read the last three editions of Grateful Dad, here they are:
For the complete series, please click
here.
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Aww ang sweet naman ng kids😍kita ko nga din po sa video. Agree po grateful tayo kasi dahil sa pandemic mas lalo tayo nag karoon ng time na makasama yung family natin.
ReplyDeleteThe best tlga dn kapag work from home kse mkakapag spend ng time sa family lalo na sa mga kids . And super sweet ng mga kids mo . Priceless ung saya na binibgay nila sainyo and sming mga followers nyo po 💞❤️
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