As COVID-19 continues to change the way we go about our day-to-day lives, here at Real Community Services we are dedicated to continuing our support for our participants and their families. Like many we are busy washing our hands, social distancing, and self-isolating as much as possible in order to keep our participants and our own families safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact many of our families who care for a loved one with special needs or disabilities have already started self-isolating within their homes.
If you too are looking at protecting your family and self-isolating for the next few months, there are a few things you can pro-actively do to make things easier and lessen your need to leave the house.
Have your fruit, veg, and groceries delivered
Supermarkets have been as busy as ever, and while they’re doing their best to keep up with demand, it might be a good idea to look at having your groceries delivered straight o your door. You’ll save yourself the trip to the shops, and if you buy from a local farm to consumer supplier, you’ll also be supporting local businesses that have been affected by COVD-19.
Set up audio calls with your health professionals
Just because you’re self-isolating, doesn’t mean you have to forgo your normal doctor or specialist appointments. Most health professionals are now offering to see their patients via virtual chat rooms such as Skype or Zoom. Just make sure to touch base with your doctor or specialist before your appointment and find out what platform they are using for their ‘dial in’ appointments.
Talk to your pharmacist about your medication
Don’t forget to do a quick stock take of your current medications, and touch base with your pharmacist about alternative ways to have your script filled. While there’s no need to stockpile your medications, we do recommend having enough supply to cover 14 days of isolation.
Keep in-touch with family and friends
During this time it’s important to keep in touch with friends and family, making sure to check on those at risk and also ensuring we aren’t left feeling lonely. Thanks to technology there are many great ways to still see the Grandparents or friends including Face Time, Skype, Zoom, and of course Facebook. Make sure to tell your friends and family that you are choosing to self-isolate and that the best way to catch up is via technology!
So you’re all ready to self-isolate with the family, but before you lock yourself away, you might want to stock up on some entertainment essentials. To help you keep the family entertained during your self-isolation here are 5 easy activities:
‘Go’ to the movies
Put the popcorn in the microwave and settle in for a family movie night. If the family can’t all agree on what movie to watch why not take movie suggestion from each family member and each night have someone draw one out of a hat. And if you really want to mix up your movie night, try putting together your very own outdoor cinema in the backyard – you could even invite your neighbour to watch from across the fence.
Learn a new recipe together
We’ve shared before the benefits of getting the whole family involved in the kitchen, and now it’s the perfect time to start. You could host a pizza party where everyone makes their own mini pizzas, bake cupcakes and then go crazy with decorations, or simply get your family members involved in cooking dinner. If you need a few recipes to get you started check out our blog here.
Keep active with a dance routine
When you’re stuck inside all day it’s very easy to fill your day by sitting in front of the TV or binging on a Netflix series. To keep your body moving, and to sneak in some exercise, try learning a new dance routine, which you can then perform to your household, or film and send to other family members. You’ll find plenty of dance tutorials and videos on Youtube that will cater to all ages and abilities.
Tap into your inner artist
There’s not better time to unpack that arts and craft box and bring out your inner Picasso than now. You can try your hand at painting, tie-dying, colouring the driveway with chalk, or even making marbled Easter eggs.
Take a trip to the zoo
While all museums, art galleries, and zoo are closed to the public, there’s no reason you can’t go on a virtual trip to visit your favourite animals. Plenty of zoos around the world are now offering virtual tours and live-streaming their cute friends. One of our favourites is the San Diego Zoo, which has set up cameras so you can watch their giraffe, penguins, koalas, polar bears, and more!
If you are one those families who are self-isolating with a loved one who has special needs or requires extra assistance, know that the entire team here at Real Community Services are just a phone call away to help with anything you need.
