Dear HN parents,

With the current situation, our entire region is under strict lockdown.

Both my spouse and I are now working from home, and since there's no school and people are discouraged from going outdoors we have to find solutions to keep our kids - aged 3rd grade & kindergarten - occupied throughout the day.

We're really trying hard not to have them watch TV or use tablet/phone/computer all the time; we bought plenty of arts and crafts and the teachers emailed some worksheets and assignments, but it's VERY difficult for them to be so socially isolated, constantly indoors, without their friends and teachers, and sitting down and working through take home tasks all day just doesn't work. Both sides are frustrated and with good cause.

We find that we're constantly giving up and letting them use screens since we need some time to get work done (meetings, calls, writing docs and code, etc). Afterwards we feel terrible, saying we have to come up with a solution. I thought about starting my workday after they go to sleep (9PM), but that doesn't scale well unless I sleep 2 hrs/night. I realize this is a new reality for many people, and we have to adjust.

How are you dealing with this situation - keeping your kids engaged, doing something positive and still making time to work?