A Peaceful Power Outage

Until my mid-twenties (before I became a wife & mother of 3 boys within a period of 8 months), I actually liked power outages.  And believe me, there were always plenty in our city.  In summer, I would stand outside the house gazing at the starry skies.  And when it rained, I would be content curling up to read a book by candlelight or just dream.

But when my husband and I had kids – power outages became a our worst nightmare.  Oh the woes of trying to clean up a messy diaper by candlelight – I’ll spare you the details :D.  As our sons grew up, we realized that they would get unusually cranky and whine a lot out of boredom, every time there was was a power outage.

Well…. I admit, I would be whining too – about how I couldn’t get the laundry done, or cook/wash dishes by candlelight.  Over the years we’ve learnt how to cope up with power outages.  And it works for the most part – even if it’s just to ease the boredom and the crankiness.  Here’s how we do it:

1. I stop trying to get something done by candlelight – cooking, dishes, cleaning, whatever… I stop whatever I was in the middle of, sit down and take a break – just to relax and spend time with the family.  Everything else can wait.

2. We get the kids involved in some activity. Here are some ideas:

• Newspaper Fun: Grab a few newspapers and a pair of scissors (or 3 pairs of safety scissors for the triplets).  Cut out shapes, alphabets or numbers out of the newspapers.  The kids usually have fun identifying the shapes or cutting some up by themselves.  We let them glue the shapes onto a plain white paper or a card to prolong the activity.

• Shadow Stories: Go the old fashioned route – use fingers to make shadows against the wall by candlelight.  We make up stories to get the kids’ attention and my husband includes sound effects for added entertainment.

• Music:  Play music the kids like on the mobile phone.  We encourage them to play their guitars, sing along and dance to the music.

3. We leave the house.  Take the kids out for a walk – if the weather is good; or go on a long drive.  We grab some dinner outside if it’s late.  That way, the half-cooked meal on the stove-top can be refrigerated for the following day.  And the kids are fed and ready for bed by the time we get back home.

Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to help your kids tide over power outages?

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