Self-Isolating With Kids? 😱

A friend’s young daughter keeps asking her: “Mama, please cancel the quarantine!”

There’s nothing more devastating than to realize that you, who has given everything to protect your little one, are powerless in the face of the pandemic.

And while there are other magazines better at parenting tips for these trying times than us, we know one thing that can sure make weathering this storm with kids better.

Make time for things to do together consciously. This includes entertainment.

“Baby Shark” and “Frozen 2” are great and everything, but how much more Olaf can you really take?

Let’s try this: choose something neither you, nor your child has listened to or watched before.

Get some snacks. Enjoy together. And then respond, together.

Talk about the plot of the movie and how it made each of you feel.

Film yourselves dancing to the tunes to send the clip to relatives—or upload on TikTok.

Draw some pictures of it.

If it’s something from a faraway country, find out some fun facts about it. Look at Google images from the location. Maybe there are exotic animals to be discovered, too?

And if your child doesn’t agree to any of this,—because, let’s face it, children are somehow both full of wonder and averse to discovery—at least you’ll have had a good couple hours without Olaf, so that’s something, right?

We have a few things that a Supamodu could potentially enjoy together, but those are merely suggestions.

Our map for the week:

Odds are you, and the kid probably hate each other’s music. But neither of you likely have an opinion about Burundian Afropop & hip-hop. So why not listen to them together? There are plenty of catchy tunes and funky beats in our compilation of Burundi’s hottest talent, which will make an impromptu pajama dancing party better, and work well as the backdrop to your family TikTok dance.

There’s no better way to spend time together as a family than watching a cartoon. But all the valiant princesses and animals in t-shirts can get repetitive, so why not take a break from Disney and Pixar, and watch something unexpected? “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” is a sweet story of one stray dog’s life, which is also absolutely breathtaking: a bunch of cutting edge visual artists collaborated with the director to make it an inspirational delight! Your whole family will be hugging and drawing (and sobbing) after the final scenes.

If your kids are teenagers with opinions and ideas, offer them to watch “This Magnificent Cake!” It’s based around Belgium’s colonization of Congo—something that aspiring freedom fighters need to know about anyway—presented through skillfully made wool dolls and a patina of delicious dark humor. If anyone ever wondered what would happen if “Rick and Morty” did a history lesson with felt dolls: here’s the answer.

If none of this works, and your children refuse to swap the products of American corporations for the fair trade options, you can always just lure them into the fantastic world of international culture with cooking.

Welsh rarebit sandwiches, Jollof rice, and Dutch pancakes are all easy options that you can whip up using just the kitchen staples.

And maybe after trying something familiar, but different, they’ll want to open more to new, undiscovered things?

Either way, stay safe and, whenever you can afford it, stay at home, where the love is.

Much health to you and your loved ones.

Hope you enjoy Supamodu and feel compelled to forward this email to your friends.

Thank you for being with us! 💛

— Katya Kazbek,
editor-in-chief