How are New Zealanders coping with the Covid-19 lockdown? Who better to ask than frazzled parents who are juggling kids, school work and jobs ? Katy Gosset looks at family life under lockdown.

A week in, how are New Zealanders coping with the Covid-19 lockdown? Who better to ask than frazzled parents who are juggling kids, school work and their own jobs ? Katy Gosset looks at family life under lockdown.

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Alice has just caught her young son sneaking out the gate

It's been less than a week since the lockdown began and her children still don't really understand why they can't visit their friends anymore.

As I distract Alice with a phone interview on this very topic, she spots her son making a break for it and calls to him to return.

"You're not allowed out there. We can't go and play with the neighbours."

Alice's children, like most, have had a simple crash course in Covid 19.

"We started saying that it was a four-week holiday but then we had to introduce the word 'lockdown' and we said that is to stop the bug spreading around the world."

Family life has had to carry on but it's not as we know it and for Alice it has been challenging.

"When I was listening to Jacinda Ardern announce that we were going into Level 4 I think the enormity of it hit me and I definitely felt quite emotional."

The children have already brainstormed their ideas for the month: everything from nature walks, art and gardening to building huts and cooking outside on the brazier.

So Alice, who is self-employed, has shelved her small business to corral the kids while her husband works from home.

But she plans to allow a few things she can control into her own day like walking or reading a book.

"Whatever that is, just making sure that we create some choices in our life so that we feel in control and that's really going to help with our levels of anxiety."

Clinical psychologist, Catherine Gallagher, agrees these are 'really strange times' and that maintaining some sense of control is the key to managing stressful events.

"When there are things that make life uncertain and that we cannot control, turning our focus to those things that we can control reminds us that we still have some power and influence.

''This helps us settle and feel safer," Ms Gallagher said.

But she reminded parents there were ways they could help their children adapt to the 'new normal', including acknowledging emotions…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details