Coronavirus Tips: How parents dey handle work from home and dia pikin

“All di drama wey my pikin dem dey give dia teacher for school, I come be di one wey dey deal with am..”

Na wetin Catherine Okoro wey dey run her own fitness business, tell BBC Pidgin. Madam Catherine na mama of four and she say di wahala no be say she dey work for house because dat one dey normal, na her pikin wey don dey for house with am.

She tok about her pikin wey dey turn five in a few days time and how she still dey explain give am why she no go fit do birthday party on di day.

She say, “My pikin look me and bin dey ask weda she fit just get her best friend to just come attend her birthday and I go dey try to dey explain give am say e no go work like dat.”

She also tok say all di loud play-play and fight wey dem dey fight dey distract am from work.

“So normally I dey chat with my clients one-on-one to check up on dia progress and also post on things pipo fit do to keep fit but with di children for house all di time and di fact say dem no too dey sleep on time, dat one don reduce my productivity.”

No be only Coach Cathy dey dis situation, Mojeed Alabi wey be tori pesin also dey face di same kwanta on top dis lockdown mostly as im wife be nurse and dey work during dis period.

Di papa of three pikin say e don gain new found respect for im wife afta di time e don spend with im pikin for dis lockdown wey don dey ground.

“Once dem get dia papa for house most especially as e always dey travel, e dey hectic. E don give dem opportunity to dey close to me and dem always wan dey around me, wey dey make am a bit difficult to work from home.”

E say na dia demand for food na im tough pass as every ten minutes dem go wan chop sometin.

E tok say, “writing na intellectual sometin and e no dey easy when pesin dey come inside to demand one tin or di oda.”

But both of dem don find way to dey work with dia pikin dem within dis period and dey find ways to work with dia pikin around dem.

Tips to handle work with pikin

  • Give dem activity make dem do: Catherine dey give dem activities and books to give her time to do work. Mojeed also say im buy books for im pikin dem.
  • Give dem your time and attention: Catherine don tok say she don dey bond with her pikin dem as she dey listen to wetin dem need. And Oga Abiola say e dey use dis opportunity to take bond with im pikin dem.
  • Keep chop tins for house: Mojeed tok say almost every fifteen minutes im pikin dey come meet am say e wan eat dis and dat, so dat one dey important. Catherine say one of di tins wey make am happy na say she don stock up her house for di next two months sef.

Madam Catherine tok say “dis period, I don dey sabi di kain personality wey my pikin dem get, like today now, I follow my oldest daughter gist well-well”. And no be only bonding with di pikin, she say she don dey use di period to bond with her husband join as dem dey exercise togeda pass before di lockdown.

BBC Pidgin Covid 19 graphics

BBC

For Oga Abiola, e think say na blessing. E tok say, “now na time to bond with your pikin well-well so dem go fit open up certain tins give you since den get confidence say, ‘I sabi say dat na Papa’.”

All dis dey happun in response to di Federal goment order on Sunday on top coronavirus mata for di kontri wey don rise pass 100 cases.

Nigerian Presido Muhammadu Buhari bin announce for live broadcast say Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states go dey on lockdown for two weeks. Even oda states like Delta don join di lockdown to stop di spread of di virus.

See di list of African kontris wey dey under full or partial lockdown.

Kontris wit Full or Partial Lockdown for Africa

BBC
Kontris wit Full or Partial Lockdown for Africa