Covid -19 Bubbles

Wed May 13th 2020

The Seumanutafa Family Bubble

Six year old Slade, sister Mia aged 4 and parents Adam and Maretta have adapted well to bubble -life.

The  family has found that their Lock down bubble was a wonderful place to spend time as a family. Not only were they able to enjoy taking walks and biking, but they also had the opportunity to spend more time with dad around; something which can be hard on a normal day as he is working to look after the family business. 

Baking, eating and looking for teddy bears on walks were also fun. Because dad was home, he and Slade were able to do a lot of biking, even making the trek from their house all the way to Napier.

Anzac Day was also an important time for the family. They were able to celebrate and remember together as well as making wreaths to show their support for the men and woman who gave so much.

 Although the family weren’t able to celebrate Easter as they usually do – travelling to their beach house and spending time with grandparents – they have found that family time at home was an important compromise. DIY jobs around the house also helped to fill the days with the garden becoming a new playground for the kids and dog.

The challenge of running a business while trying to balance family life was hard, as was the children missing out on social contact, time with friends, and seeing family.

  Maretta says 'the family have been able to hold onto the good memories to help them get through and the hope of seeing their extended family again soon has helped as well. The children’s grandparents learning to use technology to video call  also alleviated some stress and sadness about not being able to visit".

This family’s advice is to 'enjoy stopping for a bit'. 

They were able to find a balance of work and family life , the quiet of the lock down enabled family time to become more of a priority. Exercise and time out has also become very important, with mum and dad sharing looking after the kids to have an hour of time to themselves. Creating space as a family where quiet and other interests could be found has also helped the Lock down work smoothly for them.


Thank you so much for sharing  - Great tips!!

Slade is a IDFNZ patient member living in Napier.