Movement control order (MCO) in MalaysiaThe MCO is in place as a measure to combat the surge of Covid-19 in the country. As many are aware, the MCO was initially in place for an experimental period of a fortnight, taking effect from March 18 until the March 31, 2020.
However, on March 25, the MCO period is forced to be extended until April 14 in view of the rising number of fresh Covid-19 cases by the day.
Parents may be joking on social media about their childcare hell as more and more countries go into lockdown with the coronavirus during this pandemic period world wide.
But child protection professionals are not laughing.
They have real worries about the risks with families locked up 24/7 together for an indefinite period.
"You will no doubt want to throw your children out the window at some point. That's normal," psychologist Moira Mikolajczak told AFP.
"What isn't normal, is to do that," she warned, as she urged parents to give themselves a break and "not try to be Superman or Superwoman".
While governments across Europe from Ireland to Greece have been having schools send lessons and activity ideas by email to occupy bored children, social media is full of testimony from parents frazzled at having to be both teacher and playmate to their kids.
Grassroots groups, however, are trying to step into the gap with the French feminist collective #NousToutes ("All of Us"), which campaigns against domestic violence, mobilising with WhatsApp support groups and practical tips on how "not to blow your top".
"Being locked down gives us the chance to spend lots and lots of time with our children," the group said, tongue ever so slightly in cheek.
But when "we have to work from home and we are all stuck together in a small space, tensions can escalate”.
‘Step away!'
Its WhatsApp groups already have 4,000 members dispensing support and tips on how to stay zen.
First among them is "step away when you feel the tension mount (even if that means locking the toilet door)".
Parents should also watch funny videos with their children, "and program in 'off' times when you can be on your own... while someone else looks after the children".
The main thing is to try to avoid "words or gestures... that can hurt and wound... because we can behave in ways that we will regret immediately".
Mother-of-three Sarah, whose kids range in age from seven to just two months, is "staying relaxed" so far.
"Yesterday I took an hour for myself in my room, without a child hanging from me, and I did a meditation session via Instagram," the Parisian told AFP.
"It's going OK, but it's worrying for the long haul," she said as France neared the end of its first week in total lockdown.
If it is tough for the parents, it's no walk in the park for the children either — they too have been ordered home across large swathes of Europe and now in parts of the US.
"When we got into the living room when Mummy is working, there can be arguments," said 10-year-old Estheban.
"I am having to be a mother, a teacher, a cook, a cleaner and do my job as an executive in a bank from home at the same time," said Virginie, who has two sons aged 11 and six.
While most parents will cope, said Mikolajczak, Professor of Emotion and Health Psychology at the University of Louvain in Belgium, some will not.
"We can predict increases in parental burnout," she said, and sometimes there could even be "neglect and violence".
Some of the activities you can do with your child/children at home during this time.
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