Minnie Driver Says She's Found New Ways for Son Henry to Not Feel 'So Isolated' During Pandemic

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Minnie Driver seeks the positive in the pandemic to help her 12-year-old boy through the unprecedented times.

Speaking with PEOPLE for the latest issue, on newsstands now, the Minnie Questions podcast host, 51, says lockdown has been challenging for son Henry, though they find moments of levity to bond with each other while at home.

"My son has been so isolated and so desperate for connection," says Driver. "This guy who runs our local toy shop, he lives above the toy shop, and he was walking into his house a couple of days ago and my assistant stopped him and said hello because my son used to be in there all the time."

She continues, "The guy said, 'Oh, I know another kid in another part of town who is really into this thing called Warhammer,' which is this game that these kids play, where you paint figures, and you play these games. 'Why don't I connect them?' So my son is now on a first-date Zoom call with a Warhammer buddy!"

Driver adds that Henry was "shouting and laughing" with his new friend on the virtual playdate.

"The world is so weird now; how these children are having to having to connect," says the mom.

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One way Driver and her boy manage to lift their spirits when they're feeling down is by breaking out in dance.

"We had a really rough day … we were both feeling sad," she recalls, "and we have this gigantic speaker in the kitchen, and I just hooked it up and we played, 'Love's in Need of Love Today' by Stevie Wonder, and we were just dancing. Then I was about to get a bit tearful and I was like, 'No. It's Stevie Wonder. Nobody cries at Stevie Wonder. Dance!' And we just danced."

"We danced around the kitchen with the dog barking, and we both felt better at the end of it," says Driver. "We collapsed in the pile on the beanbags on the kitchen floor and we felt a lot better."

She later adds that "dancing is honestly one of my favorite things in the whole world to do."

Driver, on New Year's Eve, looked back at 2020, saying that the "good thing" about the year was "waking up to these three faces every day," sharing a photo of Henry, her boyfriend Addison O'Dea and their dog.

"Allowing each other to work/scream/worry/sleep/run/play. Going on an odyssey during a pandemic, so we could be with family," she listed of other "good" points. "It feels bananas to set intentions for the coming year beyond: stay healthy, don't put anyone unnecessarily at risk, be grateful for what I have and keep mining for creativity within the current paradigm."

"Maybe the first realisation of the new year is also the last of this one : there is absolutely nothing beyond this present moment, so perhaps futurizing is corrosive and in the words of a few, very cool people- be here now. All love to all of you, #happynewyear," she concluded.


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