Pandemic Fun: Board Games Galore!

The cornavirus, Covid-19, hasn't exactly been easy. Everyone has suffered in some way. Everyone has had to give something up. Where I am, we've been in lockdown of some form or another for nearly 10 months. That's a long time to go without seeing friends and family (except online). It's a long time to not be able to shop for non-essentials. And it's a long time to have the kids home.

My children are 14 and 12 now. Older, so perhaps that makes it easier. Or harder. Or maybe it's what everyone is going through this past year. But at least their education hasn't suffered. We've kept up with the school work, they've talked to their teachers on the phone, and each kid is doing wonderfully. School from home isn't the worst thing in the world. And I work from home anyway.

But it's a lot of time to spend together. I'm not complaining. I love having the boys around. And in the summer and fall, it was easy. We spent so much time outside with the chickens and the rabbits that we didn't have time to get sick of each other and we certainly weren't bored. 

Now winter has set in. It's January in Canada, so it's cold. We still look after the animals, obviously, but we no longer spend 12 hours out in the barnyard. It's far too cold for that. Like so many others, we're stuck indoors. All the time. Together. They have their school work, but it really doesn't take that long. If they have an hour of actual work a day, I'd be surprised.

They have video games. They can watch movies. But I'm not sure that's as enriching as I'd like it to be and it involves no time with the family. And so came the return of the family board game.

To be clear, we'd never really abandoned board games. We had a game night. One game a week. That was it. That was all we'd had time for. Now it's an entirely different story. We're home all the time. All the time. Together. To save our sanity, we decided a game a day was the way to go.

We started breaking out board games we hadn't played in years. We even bought some new ones. Monopoly, of course, was at the forefront, but there were so many others. Actually, we have several versions of Monopoly. Lord of the Rings is our favorite, but we played Star Wars, Deluxe Edition, and that really long one my younger son got for Christmas. Insanity.

But no more Monopoly. There are only so many games you can play before you start to hate each other. And there are so many games out there to explore. If you're looking for something a little different, and you like a good ghost story, try Betrayal at House on the Hill. It's fantastic. We liked it so much we bought the expansion and the upgrade kit. It's totally awesome. Get this game if you want to have a great time with family. We're inviting our neighbors over for a great game just as soon we we're allowed to have people over at all.

There are other games we've played too. An older game we enjoyed was Survive! Escape from Atlantis. Hadn't played that one for a long time, now we're just loving it all over again. It also has an expansion. A Lord of the Rings game I hadn't touched in years was also a hit. And the Nightmare Video Board Game series was great once I ripped the old VHS tapes to DVDs. It's all been great. And hilarious.

If you haven't already, bring back the board games. They're a great way to have a fun time with your kids and other family members. Most games take less than an hour, so everyone has time for them. One game in the evening isn't going to kill anyone, despite what you're teenagers tell you. Give it a shot. It was well worth it for us.

Pandemic Fun: Building a Barn

Well, the summer of 2020 just seems to be dragging on and on, doesn't it? Things are still closed, people are still home from work, and kids haven't been able to go to school for months. A pandemic will do that, and it can become increasingly difficult to keep children entertained.


We are incredibly lucky here, and we know it. We haven't been hit as hard as some areas, and our government responded quickly and efficiently. Everything was shut down and people stayed home, so our active caseload is under 10 at the time of this writing. We're doing well.


But staying home all the time is hard on the kids. So we need projects. We live in the country and have the ability to have a variety of animals, so we're lucky again. Building a Barn became our next project.


Well, my kids built the barn. Now 12 and 14, they're growing up and getting bigger. So we ordered a barn package and they got to work. They read the directions, nailed boards together, attached paneling, and even erected the walls. There were moments of hilarity, frustration, and a fun moment where the kids practically dropped a wall on me. Two kids and their mom building a barn does lead to some interesting moments.


I fully realize not every family can build a barn during quarantine. But everyone can do something. Try to find a useful and fun project to do with the kids. Maybe you can't build a barn, but how about making a bed for the cat? No cat? Well, it doesn't have to be pet related. You could decorate dishes with a dishwasher and food safe paint and varnish. Buy white dishes and brightly colored paints. The kids will enjoy themselves and you'll have plates you can use for years.


There are dozens of project ideas out there. But the best ones will be projects you can see for years to come. They'll remind you of the time your spent months upon months with your children while they couldn't go to school and most activities were shut down. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Pandemic Fun: Building a Rabbit Hutch

Well, it's summer of 2020 and kids have been off school where I live for almost 3 months. They'll be off school for another 3 months. That's nearly 6 months at home. Nothing is open because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so we can't exactly take the kids to the zoo or sign them up for summer camp. With the kids home for an entire spring and summer, we had to come up with some projects to do.


Our first project was conceived of for two distinct reasons. First, the kids were off school before spring break. Spring break, at least where I live, is a terrible time of year. Snow and wind and rain and slush. Occasional blizzards. Getting snowed in. It's not usually a fun time of year. So the weather prevented us from starting a large outdoor project at that particular time.


But the kitchen was also mid-renovation, so inside activities sucked. That meant the garage was our option. Fun times. We had to do something, and it needed to be something fun. And useful. After a little discussion with my two boys, who are 11 and 13, we decided to build a new rabbit hutch. My younger son has 3 rex rabbits outside, and they needed a new house anywhere. The old one just wasn't good enough. So building a rabbit hutch it was.


But this would be tricky for a couple reasons. First, getting the materials during the pandemic proved to be a little bit of a challenge. Even though hardware and lumber stores were open, they had limited hours, were allowing only a few people in at a time, and had strict rules. Those rules meant I couldn't take the kids with me. We had to make a list and I had to buy everything without them actually being there. Okay. I bought wood, paint, screws, and some of the hardware we'd need.


Turns out I'd be short on wood, but that only mattered until my older son found some extra wood in the basement. So we had wood. I'd also forgotten paintbrushes, but I stole a few from my neighbor. So we had everything we needed.


The building was fun, though I ended up banned. My older son was afraid I would cut off my fingers so he manned the saw. My younger son got tired of me measuring wrong and took over that job. So they built it under my direction and using the blueprints I'd drawn for them. They're great kids and the hutch looks great. It took 2 weeks to finish because it was cold out and we needed to wait for the weather to warm a little before painting. But they did it.


My talented boys completed their first quarantine project. They worked hard, worked smart, and made something the rabbits love. They still intend to add a gambrel roof to the top so it looks more like a barn, but they're happy with it.


Quarantine projects have become a necessity. Whether it's building a rabbit hutch or painting a bedroom, giving your children something productive to do can be a lifesaver. They can learn new skills and have some fun.


And we ended up with a rabbit hutch out of it.

Useless Advice for Autism Parents: Please Stop Giving It

If there's one thing I hear in my autism parents support group, it's complaints about the many pieces of "advice" that are offered at every gathering. Or every sort-of gathering. Family reunion, trip to the store, quick phone call, social media...you name it, we're flooded with advice. But unless you're an actual professional with actual experience and we've asked for a little help, don't offer up your advice. You're not helping. We know you mean well, but please stop.

Here are a few of my favorite bits of advice.


Make him socialize more. If he had to sit down to dinner with the rest of us, he'd learn how to cope.
My son does socialize. He has to go to school and figure out how to function without the world ending on a daily basis. It's a constant struggle, and we've made a lot of progress. And he does join us for family dinners. For about 5 minutes. Then he has my standing permission to go eat in the kitchen, or in the living room, or in the basement if that's what it takes to get him to finish a meal. Eating in a large group isn't something he can do yet. Stop bringing it up. Maybe talk about his accomplishments. Like how he didn't throw his dinner roll at someone before he left the table. Because...progress.


Have you had his hearing tested? I think he has a hearing problem.
Believe it or not, every parent of a child with autism has taken their child for a hearing test. It's not easy to get an autism diagnosis without having taken this little step. He can hear. Another hearing test is not going to magically make autism go away.


A time out will help with those tantrums.
First, they are not tantrums. They are complete meltdowns. This is a different category. It might look like a tantrum, but it's absolutely not. He'd not trying to get his way. He's so overwhelmed that he can not control himself. Not will not. Can not. A time out won't do anything. We have a coping mechanism, we're working through it. Please let our little process work.


My accountant's daughter's friend had a kid who used to have autism...
No. Just no. You can't cure autism, so your accountant's daughter's friend either doesn't exist or is an idiot. You're about to suggest some idiotic idea that has no basis in reality and might actually be something we already tried while we were new to the autism diagnosis and thought we too knew more than educated professionals. Check yourself before this comes out of your mouth.


Have you tried essential oils?
At this point I'll just roll my eyes at you. I love essential oils, personally. I use them all the time. And yes, I use lavender for my son, among other oils. Guess what? They don't fix autism. At the very best they can ease some of the more outward manifestations of my son's autism, but that's it. They're not going to stop the next meltdown. They're not going to make him eat food that isn't white, or whatever color he's into this month. And if you're bringing this up because you sell essential oils, just go away.


Feed him gluten free foods. Kids with autism can't eat gluten.
Please shut up. First, there is absolutely no credible research that indicates that gluten does anything, good or bad, for my autistic son. Second, he's currently eating 3 foods: dinner rolls, plain white rice, or chicken nuggets that I've picked the coating off of. Gluten-free is an excellent idea for people who have a legitimate medical condition that precludes the consumption of gluten. For my son, it would be a disaster. So hands off his dinner rolls. And please shut up.


Maybe if you hadn't vaccinated him...
Yes, I've actually had people say this to me. Actually had people I know accuse me of giving my son autism by vaccinating him. Let me be clear. If you believe that vaccines cause autism, we're probably not hanging out, so it's unlikely you'll be saying this to me. But you might know someone who has a child with autism, so keep your thoughts to yourself on this one. There's absolutely no evidence to support the claim that vaccines cause autism. None. Accusing someone of giving their kid autism is not helping.


Look, we know you mean well (except for people giving that last bit of "advice" regarding vaccines). You want to help. But these little gems are not helping. If you really want to help, ask what you can do to make things easier on the parents. Offer to play with the children while Mom takes a nap. Maybe do her grocery shopping for her. Or just give her a giant bag of dinner rolls for her little one to eat at every meal. There are ways to help. Just not by giving ridiculous pieces of advice.