GP receptionist Terri Haliwood is really trying to keep her kids entertained under lockdown.
The 39-year-old brought the outdoors inside to keep her daughter Bella, four, happy during times of social distancing.
The mum-of-two from Bristol kayaked down the stairs, stomped in the shower in her wellies, and turned the washing line into a fairground ride.
She’s hoping Bella will remember the silly memories rather then being stuck indoors.
She said: ‘We’ve had the ironing board in the shower so we had a water slide – I told Bella we’d gone to the water park.
‘I’ve had her fully dressed in the shower with an umbrella – I was making her think it was raining so she didn’t ask to go outside!
‘We both had wellies on, coats, umbrellas – she was loving it!
‘That broke the day up and then she’s not miserable, because it’s something so fun that she’s done.’
Terri explained that the youngster was getting upset because she’s been at nursery since she was 18 months so self-isolating has been hard on her.
‘We’re not people that stay indoors either,’ she added.
‘I was just thinking, “I’m going to bring the outdoors in”.
‘We’ve got the campervan, so normally when the weather’s like this we would just be going off somewhere.
‘We’ve done bodyboarding with her, we’ve done kayaking.
‘We’re getting dressed up to do it, so she feels like we’ve got out and done an activity.
‘A lot of mums are stuck for ideas – it’s something so simple that they can do at home to entertain the kids.’
Terri’s eldest, furloughed recruitment consultant Sherene Neville, 20, said: ‘This morning I’ve come down and the tables upturned – mum’s doing a stable yard with a horse on.
‘We don’t want Bella having a negative experience such as memories of staying in the house all the time – obviously she’s too young to understand what’s going on.
‘So if we make it seem like a really fun couple of weeks or however long it’s going to be, then it’s just going to be fun for her.’
Sherene posted the videos on her Instagram and TikTok accounts, not expecting them to be such a hit.
She added: ‘We’d had people comment saying that they live for stuff like this.
‘People have messages saying that we have really cheered them up.
‘Someone actually messaged me saying they’ve had a break up with their boyfriend and saw my video and it really cheered them up.
‘Obviously everyone is in completely different circumstances during this lockdown, so to hear everyone’s different story and know that we’ve actually managed to put a smile on their face is brilliant.’
The pair have plenty more planned for Bella and their advice for those parents struggling to keep their kids entertained is to remain positive.
Sherene said: ‘Obviously it’s a really horrible situation to be in, but use this time to actually spend your time with your family in the household.
‘A lot of people work 40 hour weeks and they don’t have this much time with their family, so definitely spend it together and be there for each other.
Terri added: ‘I’d just say go with it – kids are fractious, they are grumpy but it’s just a mess, you can tidy it up after.’
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