{"id":4740,"date":"2020-06-03T12:14:56","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T08:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/?p=4740"},"modified":"2020-06-03T12:17:11","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T08:17:11","slug":"6-ways-parents-can-support-their-kids-through-covid-19-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/2020\/06\/03\/6-ways-parents-can-support-their-kids-through-covid-19-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"6 WAYS PARENTS CAN SUPPORT THEIR KIDS THROUGH COVID-19 OUTBREAK"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) brings with it feelings like anxiety, stress and uncertainty \u2014 and they are felt especially strongly by children of all ages. Though all children deal with such emotions in different ways, if your child has been faced with school closures, cancelled events or separation from friends, they are going to need to feel loved and supported now more than ever.<\/p>\n

Expert adolescent psychologist, best-selling author, monthly New York Times columnist and mother of two Dr. Lisa Damour says how you can help create a sense of normalcy at home while navigating \u201cthe new (temporary) normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

1. Be calm and proactive<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cParents should have a calm, proactive conversation with their children about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and the important role children can play in keeping themselves healthy. Let them know that it is possible that [you or your children] might start to feel symptoms at some point, which are often very similar to the common cold or flu, and that they do not need to feel unduly frightened of this possibility,\u201d recommends Dr. Damour. \u201cParents should encourage their kids to let them know if they’re not feeling well, or if they are feeling worried about the virus so that the parents can be of help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdults can empathize with the fact that children are feeling understandably nervous and worried about COVID-19. Reassure your children that illness due to COVID-19 infection is generally mild, especially for children and young adults,\u201d she says. It\u2019s also important to remember, that many of the symptoms of COVID-19 can be treated. \u201cFrom there, we can remind them that there are many effective things we can do to keep ourselves and others safe and to feel in better control of our circumstances: frequently wash our hands, don’t touch our faces and engage in social distancing.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Another thing we can do is actually help them look outward. So to say to them, \u2018Listen, I know you\u2019re feeling really anxious about catching coronavirus, but part of why we\u2019re asking you to do all these things \u2014 to wash your hands, to stay home \u2014 is that that\u2019s also how we take care of members of our community. We think about the people around us, too.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Stick to a routine<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChildren need structure. Full stop. And what we\u2019re all having to do, very quickly, is invent entirely new structures to get every one of us through our days,\u201d says Dr. Damour. \u201cI would strongly recommend that parents make sure that there\u2019s a schedule for the day \u2014 that can include playtime where a kid can get on their phone and connect with their friends, but it also should have technology-free time and time set aside to help around the house. We need to think about what we value and we need to build a structure that reflects that. It will be a great relief to our kids to have a sense of a predictable day and a sense of when they\u2019re supposed to be working and when they get to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

She suggests getting your children involved too.\u00a0\u201cFor children 10 and 11 or older, I would ask the child to design it. Give them a sense of the kinds of things that should be included in their day, and then work with what they create.\u201d When it comes to younger children, \u201cdepending on who is supervising them (I realize that not every parent is going to be home to do this) structure their day so that all of the things that need to get done before anything else happen: all of their schoolwork and all of their chores. For some families, doing that at the start of the day will work best for kids. Other families may find it may work okay to start the day a little bit later after sleeping in and enjoying breakfast together as a family.\u201d For parents who are not able to supervise their children during the day, explore with your caretaker ways to create a structure that works best.<\/p>\n

3. Let your child feel their emotions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

With school closures come cancelled school plays, concerts, sports matches and activities that children are deeply disappointed about missing out on because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Dr. Damour\u2019s number one piece of advice is to let them be sad.\u00a0\u201cIn the scope of an adolescent\u2019s life these are major losses. This is bigger for them than it is for us because we\u2019re measuring it against our lifetime and experience. Support, expect and normalize that they are very sad and very frustrated about the losses they are mourning.\u201d When in doubt, empathy and support are the way to go.<\/p>\n

4. Check in with them about what they\u2019re hearing<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There is a lot of misinformation circulating about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). \u201cFind out what your child is hearing or what they think is true. It\u2019s not enough to just tell your child accurate facts, because if they have picked up something that is inaccurate, if you don\u2019t find out what they are thinking and directly address the misunderstanding, they may combine the new information you give them with the old information they have. Find out what your child already knows and start from there in terms of getting them on the right track.\u201d<\/p>\n

If they have questions you can\u2019t answer, instead of guessing, use it as an opportunity to explore the answers together. Use websites of trusted organizations like UNICEF and the World Health Organization for sources of information.<\/p>\n

Many children are facing bullying and abuse at school or online around the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It\u2019s important your children know that you\u2019re always there for them should they experience bullying. \u201cActivating bystanders is the best way to address any kind of bullying,\u201d says Dr. Damour. \u201cKids who are targeted should not be expected to confront bullies; rather we should encourage them to turn to friends or adults for help and support.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. Create welcome distractions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to processing difficult emotions, \u201ctake your cues from your child, and really think a lot about balancing talking about feelings with finding distractions, and allow distractions when kids need relief from feeling very upset.\u201d Have a family game night every few days or cook meals together. Dr. Damour is using dinner time to connect with her daughters. \u201cWe\u2019ve decided that we are going to have a dinner team every night. We mix it up in pairs, so we rotate who is in charge of making dinner for the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

With teens and their screens, allow for some leeway, but not a free-for-all. Dr. Damour advises to be up front with your teenager and say that you understand they have more time on their hands, but that it\u2019s not going to be a good idea to have unfettered access to screens or social media. \u201cAsk your teen, \u2018how should we handle this? Come up with a structure and show me the structure that you\u2019re thinking about, and then I\u2019ll let you know what I think.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

6. Monitor your own behaviour<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cParents of course are anxious too and our kids will take emotional cues from us,\u201d explains Dr. Damour. \u201cI would ask parents to do what they can to manage their anxiety in their own time and to not overshare their fears with their children. That may mean containing emotions, which may be hard at times, especially if they\u2019re feeling those emotions pretty intensely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Children rely on their parents to provide a sense of safety and security. \u201c[It\u2019s important that] we remember that they are the passengers in this and we are driving the car. And so even if we\u2019re feeling anxious, we can\u2019t let that get in the way of them feeling like safe passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Credit: https:\/\/www.unicef.org\/coronavirus\/6-ways-parents-can-support-their-kids-through-coronavirus-covid-19<\/p>\n

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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) brings with it feelings like anxiety, stress and uncertainty \u2014 and they are felt especially strongly by children of all ages. Though all children deal with such emotions in different ways, if your child has been faced with school closures, cancelled events or separation from friends, they are going to need to feel loved and supported now more than ever. Expert adolescent psychologist, best-selling author, monthly New York Times columnist and mother of two Dr. Lisa Damour says how you can help create a sense of… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4741,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[31],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4740"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4740"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4745,"href":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4740\/revisions\/4745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merrylandinternational.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}