Creative problem-solving in times of crisis:
Applying design thinking to deal with the implications of COVID-19 spread in NYC for young families
As a family residing in a small New York apartment with two kids under 4 (and a dog), we followed the news about COVID19 spread around the globe anxiously. We knew that once the city would implement social distancing, we would need to deal with the implications of working from home while taking care of our kids.
Trying to maintain the kids’ routine and social life was our top concern: With schools shut down, our regular babysitter’s commute that requires long and multiple rides in the subway was no longer a viable option, and playgrounds in our neighborhood were closed, it was not going to be an easy task.
On top of that, we had to keep working. We first tried to improvise a small home office and work in shifts, but soon realized that in our small space this is almost impossible.
Team up
We knew we weren’t the only ones who were facing this situation. Other young families need to deal with the same circumstances, and that’s when we decided that might be where our solution would come from.
We teamed up with 3 other families from our neighborhood: all have 2 kids around the same ages. With a sense of urgency, we gathered around one night (keeping the required 6 feet from each other).
We first agreed on our goals and their priorities:
- Keeping kids and parents sane: keeping our kids’ routine and allowing them in-person interaction with other kids. That on its own would mean immediate relief for parents.
- Keeping our jobs (for some of us, finding ones): allowing time and proper space for working.
- Keeping costs at a minimum: while most of our regular expenses remain the same, we wanted to find a solution that would not burden our bank account in these difficult times.
- Avoid getting sick: we had to keep social distance to minimize the risk of catching COVID19 while keeping in mind one or more of us might need medical treatment at some point.
Setting the grounds for communal living
We quickly realized that fulfilling those goals would mean leaving the city and live as a combined family unit — and the sooner the better.
We started ideating, realizing what we’re doing is setting the grounds for communal living: What happens if one of us gets sick? How do we operate with eight kids of different ages? How big of a space do we need and what other requirements it needs to fill? These were all questions we had to answer before getting on the road.
A big house in the suburbs
First thing first, we wanted to leave the city as soon as possible and had to find housing that would accommodate us and our needs. We created a list of requirements, came up with relevant leads and started contracting and negotiating with relevant homeowners.
We were quickly able to find our first house in Pennsylvania. We signed a short term lease which turned out to be a good idea as we didn’t want to commit to a long stay before we were able to see and live in the house. We used this first home as our place to learn how to live with each other and settle into our routines. Once that first lease was up and we had a good routine going, we decided to move homes weekly until we found our perfect fit in North Carolina. What does a perfect house mean for our family of 16? great wifi, big enough and safe space for kids + quiet spaces for adults to work and have work calls.
All houses we’ve been to so far had a generous backyard and were close to nature (forest or ocean), which was crucial for our physical and mental health.
Parent to kid ratio: the secret to working from home made possible
The most immediate benefit of living as one big family unit was lowering the parent to kid ratio: while at home at least one parent is required (at most times) to deal with two kids, together we needed a ratio of 2–3 parents with all eight kids at one time.
In addition, only one or two parents are required to cook a meal for the kids.
And on top of that, enjoying having people from different backgrounds and various talents means our children are exposed to diverse and plural influences.
And of course, once they had each other, they often did not need any “entertaining” by adults.
Camp Corona
This is what we called the little Day Care we created behind the kids’ backs. This was probably the most challenging part: we had to plan the kids’ daily schedule, take turns in leading their activities, and make sure there were at least 2–3 adults with them at any given time, so the others were able to work.
Responsibilities included feeding eight kids at regular times, taking care of their most basic needs, solving conflicts that arose among them, and keeping them intellectually stimulated.
We kept surprising ourselves with the activities we were able to create: from daily adventures in nature to baking classes, puppet shows, scientific experiments, lots of art and guided learning through TV.
Other operations: investing in each other’s well being
Another great benefit of having eight adults with multiple talents is that there are at least three great cooks, some great negotiators (to find housing), designers, an IT guy, someone that knows how to make killer cocktails, someone that actually enjoys grocery shopping for a family of 16, someone that would push you to go on a run when you’re down, and of course — two dogs that act as emotional support animals when needed.
The fact that everyone is invested in each other’s well being is a huge gain that helps keep people’s spirits up in moments of stress or despair.
Iterations
We are learning with each new day and trying to implement lessons quickly. We made a habit out of checking-in every night after kids are asleep (usually with a drink), planning the next day’s schedule, discussing our main tasks and general learnings.
Slowly but surely we are on our way to having a winning formula: a schedule that fits most kids most of the time, a house that fits our needs without breaking our bank account, some healthy routines, and yes, a good time.