When the Singapore government put the nation on lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic, the first thing that came to mind was “I need to hit the supermarket and start stocking up.” The second thing that came to mind… we’re gonna be stuck at home with the kid – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week… for 4 weeks, possibly 8. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my kid to bits, but as any parent would know, babysitting a rambunctious 3yr-old full-time in the confines of your home is a tough ask. No playdates, no playgrounds, no outdoor activities of any kind.

I figured… “let’s wing it.”

Being a full-time photographer, the lockdown guaranteed zero client work coming in. My wife works for a telco company, which pretty much went business as usual with WFH (work from home). So for the most part, it was left up to me to figure out what the kid’s day-to-day was going to be like.

He had the weekly home-based learning Zoom video calls with his teachers and friends, but it usually lasts 15mins per session, and his attention span was even much shorter. The school sent learning packages every week… I tried to go through it with him… he sits with me for the first 10 minutes and he’s wandering off again. His screen-time was limited, and outdoors time was zero.

It was a bit of a challenge to figure out the day-to-day activities to keep him occupied. I would get ideas from the net, from youtube, from friends. I would set up toys and activities for him. Mash Play-Doh’s. Build Legos. Play games. Prepare snacks. Watch Paw Patrol. Read books. Put up a tent. Do shadow play. Draw and paint submarines and airplanes. Race cars. Run an obstacle course. Get bored. Rinse and repeat.

The first few days with him felt like work… like I was a facilitator of activities designed to keep him busy. But as time went by and we bonded more, I realized I was more an instigator of fun … to keep him learning and loving his time on lockdown.

I photographed him just so I can keep my creative juices flowing. I didn’t really get to capture all worthwhile activities because, well some moments I didn’t want to spoil by grabbing the camera and detaching myself as the documenter. Some moments you just want to relish as is. These shots are just some of the moments I had with him.. but it does capture a wonderful time with my kid on lockdown.