Sharing Stories with Mama Merry & Baby Moonella, Inviting Mothers to Stay Happy During the Pandemic

Kapanlagi.com - Being a mother in this pandemic moment is challenging, Moms. Not only taking care of the family, but the pandemic that brings new habits at home also makes mothers have many additional tasks. They have to take care of the family while working from home, and also have to be impromptu teachers for their children at home.

In the midst of the busy daily tasks, sharing stories with other Moms can be the right activity to get inspiration and new insights. Especially in a pandemic like now, mothers are very vulnerable to stress, so sharing stories can be one way to maintain a mother's smile. A happy mother is important because that is where a happy family begins.

To maintain a mother's and family's smile and keep them cheerful and happy in any condition, Pepsodent held an exciting event called Virtual Talkshow & Art Workshop with Pepsodent: Fun Ideas for Family Time in the New Normal Era on Tuesday (22/12/2020) through live streaming on Vidio and live on Instagram @tanyapepsodent. Featuring Mom Influencer who is popular on Instagram, Mama Merry and Baby Moonella, what is their excitement like?

The Biggest Challenge in Accompanying Children at Home

In the event, Mama Merry shared a lot about the pandemic moments that have presented many challenges for mothers, including herself. She also shared her experiences during the early moments of the pandemic with her little one, Munel, a term of endearment for Baby Moonella, and her younger brother, Marson.

“The most difficult part was at the beginning of the pandemic. Munel and Marson are really bored at home. Not to mention the kids, even we are bored. Usually, they go to school from Monday to Friday, play in the playground, and sometimes get bored when they stay at home. In the beginning, they didn't even go to their grandmother's house, so they became really bored. This becomes an extra challenge for mothers on how to keep their children happy at home," Mama Merry said.

The biggest challenge for Mama Merry turned out to be explaining the current situation to her children.

"The real challenge is actually explaining to the children what is happening during this pandemic. What is the virus? Why can't we go out of the house?" Why do we have to stay at home? Then, how to divide time between work and teaching children, how to keep the family happy in this condition," Mama Merry continued.

In response to this, Nadya Pramesrani, a clinical psychologist from @rumah.dandelion, gave her tips on how to explain something to children in a more appropriate way.

"When explaining something to children, the easiest way is to use visuals. For example, when explaining what a virus is, it will be easier with a storybook or video, which are now widely available online. But perhaps the most challenging part is that children have to wear masks and maintain distance," explained Nadya.

Designing Activities for Children at Home

Designing activities for children while staying at home is not an easy task. Mothers have to be creative so that the little ones don't get easily bored. Mama Merry also shared her daily activities with Moonella so that they don't get bored at home.

"So, in the morning, our new activity is going out together to find the sun. We sunbathe first." Health is number one. Later in the afternoon, if it's not raining or there's no online school, just take a walk near the house. Look at what's fresh, look at the trees. Now there are many quality time activities at home because Daddy also works from home," said Mama Merry.

Talking about daily schedules, Mama Merry admitted that she is not the type of person who is strict with specific schedules. She chooses to be flexible and relaxed so as not to stress herself.

Tips to Support Children's Socialization at Home

Mama also feels worried that if she stays at home too much, her child will have difficulty socializing. Some feel embarrassed or afraid when meeting new people. Nadya gives some advice to support the process of children's socialization at home.

"This is indeed experienced by many and this is indeed a process when we later have the opportunity for children to interact with their friends again." But that doesn't mean we can't sharpen their socialization skills. When at home, having lunch together and playing together trains their socialization skills," Nadya explained.

Nadya also suggests that Moms encourage their children to socialize, for example, by communicating virtually with their school friends through online media. So, children don't miss out on their interaction needs.

Managing Children's Time at Home

Many Moms think that they should keep their children as busy as possible so that they don't get bored at home. But, this view is actually wrong. According to Nadya, as parents, we should facilitate and provide various activity choices. So, they don't get bored and end up choosing gadgets.

In general, fun activities for children at home include playing, learning, and exercising. According to Nadya, children aged 5 and above should exercise for at least 1 hour every day. Meanwhile, for children under 5 years old who have higher movement needs, exercise for about 2 to 3 hours. So, what about playtime and learning?

“Parents should consider their child's abilities because sitting in school can be very tiring for them. So, combining play and learning can be done. The important thing is that the child is happy with the activities so that they can benefit more for the child,” explained Nadya.

The Importance of Me Time for Moms to Stay Happy

Maintaining physical health is indeed important, but don't forget to be happy, Moms! It is mandatory for mothers to set aside time for themselves to stay happy, especially in the midst of this pandemic.

“I usually wake up earlier so that I have an extra 1-2 hours to relax, not rushing to take a shower, read a book first, and then decide what to do next. Happy Moms make a happy family, so they must be able to take a little break for themselves,” continued Mama Merry.

However, many Moms often feel guilty when they take time for themselves. In response to this, Nadya emphasized that taking time for oneself does not mean being selfish.

"The limit is how much time we give ourselves? When we finally make a lot of time for others, we become selfish towards ourselves. Likewise, when we give all our time to ourselves, we become selfish towards others. We still need to take a break to stay mentally and physically fit. So when we return to our family, we can give our best version of ourselves," Nadya continued.

Keeping a mother's smile is very important because a happy mother creates a happy family. That's why Pepsodent is always faithful in accompanying mothers in Indonesia, one of which is through an inspirational talk show event in welcoming Mother's Day.

Maintaining Family Dental Health

In this pandemic era, maintaining health is very important, including dental health. Mama Merry tries to instill dental health habits in Moonella and Marson through storytelling.

"So actually, at first I told them using the Pepsodent Kids book, Mama Pepo, which has many funny illustrations." After being given an explanation about it, Munel automatically brushes his teeth regularly," said Mama Merry.

Nadya herself gives tips on getting children accustomed to brushing their teeth through games, because basically children love to play the most. "So when we teach something new, we introduce it first so that it becomes familiar. It can be started by reading books, then songs and singing, which never fails to involve children," explained Nadya.

Maximizing family health protection can certainly make the family stay happy and smile again. To protect dental health to the maximum, just trust Pepsodent. There is Pepsodent Cavity Prevention and Pepsodent Complete 8 which have been proven to maintain dental and oral health so that the family can stay happy and keep smiling!

Super Fun Virtual Workshop

In addition to presenting inspirational talk show sessions with Mama Merry, Baby Moonella, and clinical psychologist Nadya Prameswari, this event also invites Moms and their children to participate in a virtual art workshop to paint tote bags. Mama Merry and Baby Moonella also enthusiastically paint tote bags as sweet gifts for Mother's Day.

Not only Mama Merry and Baby Moonella, but other Moms and children are also equally enthusiastic. Many showed off their painted tote bag creations, the results were really cool!

Well, that was the series of events Virtual Talkshow & Art Workshop Together with Pepsodent: Fun Ideas for Family Time in the New Normal. See you at other fun events with Pepsodent!

(adv/wri)