Q&A: “Your Safety Depends on Each Other: Indoor Family Games and Ensuring Everyone’s Safety At Home” featuring Obinna Theo Anyina
[Enjoy this enlightening and educative conversation during EduTrust Foundation Tweet Series against COVID-19 on 3rd April 2020. The Tweet Series is designed to help keep the public informed, engaged, prepared, smart and safe during these challenging times by sharing tips and advice from experts and practitioners.]
Q: Our guest for today’s Chat is Obinna Theo Anyina (@obixproductions aka Obi X the Voice). Obinna is a Script Writer, Voice Coach, Voiceover Artist and Voice Actor. He has also worked as a Broadcaster and Correspondent with Galaxy TV, an indigenous TV station in Lagos. As a parent, he will be sharing tips on fun activities and games that families can engage in to make the best of the #StayAtHome period.
A: It's good to be on the show. Thank you!
Q: How has it been like emotionally, being a parent with the kids out of school and the entire family staying back home?
A: It is quite distressing emotionally, to say the least. Incidentally, my kids aren't with me in Nigeria. They travelled with their mum to one of the countries badly hit by the #Coronavirus pandemic (United Kingdom). That makes it even more emotionally distressing. However I am in touch with them via video call and other means.
Q: That must be distressing! For large families sharing a considerably small space, especially low income families, how do you think they can ensure the safety of everyone, considering the fact that each person’s safety depends on every other person in the household?
A: For families residing in small spaces, they ought to stick to the safety and precautionary measures of consistent and appropriate personal hygiene, hand-washing and observing courtesies if they must cough or sneeze. These health and hygiene tips are shared by the WHO, National Centre for Disease Control and the Ministry of Health. They should ensure they stick together always. In addition, such families should be conscious about going out. Social distancing from everyone else outside the house should be top priority. It is easier to monitor your movement when you live alone or with just one or two persons, but with larger numbers, movement control becomes tedious. Please, keep your social distance from outsiders as much as possible.
Q: Many families have had regular lives with work and school, and even on weekends or vacations, they go out to places. Staying indoors now will be a very different experience. What mental attitude should they view this change with?
A: As a father, it is my responsibility to provide emotional support and succor to my household in times of distress. This relates to both the man and the woman, whether co-parenting or a single parent. I'd make my folks consider this period of mandatory solitude as a time for stocktaking and reflection. I'd encourage indoor games and fun activities.
Q: What are the kinds of indoor fun activities that families can engage in in this period?
A: I would recommend thrilling and exciting activities to break the boredom.
I would play card games, hide and seek, singing-along, dancing gigs and basic indoor aerobic exercises. Other indoor activities families can engage in include: creative thinking exercises, e-learning and remote learning exercises, movie nights, board games, online game challenges, among others. You could also try movie review challenges, cooking competition, drawing, painting and other forms of art, dress up challenge, workout, amongst a string of other fun and educative activities.
Q: Thank you. Can you suggest creative ways that families can create their own games? What would you do in your case?
A: I'd lead the kids in games that would stimulate their intellect and enrich their vocabulary, like Scrabble and crosswords. The kids can develop their word power that way. For my special needs son, games like running in circles and ball games would be awesome.
Q: What can parents/guardians do in case of non-medical emergencies that require stepping out of the home?
A: Parents ought to be prepared for the inevitable. Within their means, they should make available basic utilities like food, water, alternative power sources, as well as funds to replace any exhausted stock. Responsibility is the hallmark of parenting. In the case of stepping out of the home, only a parent or well informed adult should do that.
Q: “Responsibility is the hallmark of parenting”. Thank you, sir. That’s a salient point for today. How do you think families will come out of this, feeling, especially those in cities under lockdown, after being copped up at home for so long?
A: “What doesn't kill you makes you stronger”. Parents should adopt dynamic survival strategies to enable them cope during unforeseen socioeconomic challenges. Such strategies should be tailor-made to suit the peculiarities of individual families. For some working parents who do not spend sufficient time with their kids, #StayAtHome period is an opportunity to address that and strengthen family bond. It may lead to a shift in priorities, culture, habits and routines of parents after #COVID19.
Q: We have observed that despite the health tips and information shared by relevant health authorities, many people outside city centres still flout #StayAtHome and #socialdistancing orders. What's the most effective way of getting rural populations and the poor to obey the orders?
A: The first thing to realize is that there can never be enough sensitization, information and education. TV and Radio adverts are not enough if they do not sufficiently explain to the people in the language they can understand why we are asking them to obey the orders. The government and all stakeholders should engage traditional leaders and religious leaders to help pass on the message. The people should be made to understand that the orders and measures put in place are for their own good and for the good of their loved ones and everybody else. Our safety depends on each other.
Secondly, there are genuine cases of serious economic need by poor and vulnerable communities. These people were already living a life of crisis before the #Coronavirus crisis, so it is nothing new to them. Adequate and effective measures should be taken to provide palliatives and other forms of support to enable them stay at home without dying of hunger.
Q: The default “play” thing for many children is TV, video games, Android games and the internet. How should parents control the content that children are exposed to at this time? How to control the time spent on “play” and balance it with games, chores or study time?
A: Staying together at home this period means that parents have the opportunity to more closely observe what their children and wards do. However, observation and control should be participatory and not heavy-handed. I would advise parents to use parental control settings on TV and internet content and to ensure that they maintain simple routines and flexible schedules for playtime, work time, study time and other activities. This way, it will be easy for the children to adapt once schools reopen after the stay at home period.
Q: This is so valuable. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and advice with us, sir. It’s an honour to have you. To everyone at home, don’t forget to observe proper hygiene, social distancing and other directives from WHO and NCDC to reduce the spread of Coronavirus. Stay safe out there!
A: Thank you so much, Spirit Being (@MarlineOluchi). I appreciate the opportunity.
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*Some questions and answers have been slightly edited.
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