Covid-19! Now, that’s a pandemic that has definitely outstayed its welcome. A good one and a half years spent in this new and unfamiliar situation, stuck in the country, working from home, putting us in very unfamiliar territory.
Many articles and news are going on about how the ongoing Covid pandemic is creating havoc across the world. But, there is a group that has not been given much attention to. Any guesses?
It’s our children!
“The signs that children will bear the scars of the pandemic for years to come are unmistakable.”
-Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director
There have been so many changes and sudden shifts in their lives that they might not have come to terms with it even now. They are kept indoors, not allowed to play with friends or even go to school.
How has the pandemic affected our children?
Changes in daily routines and habits can confuse young children. If they have been taught to follow a routine that is now broken, children are negatively affected.
During the pandemic, with many parents facing the loss of work and income, some take out their frustration on their children. This can often traumatize children and leave them with mental scars.
- Children often learn facial expressions and cues from interacting with others and seeing their faces. Now, when everyone is wearing masks, children can’t see the expressions on people’s faces and can lead to poor development of such skills.
- Less playtime and interaction with friends can lead to poor social and mental skill development in young children. They may also cause childhood depression and other mental disorders in children.
- When parents work from home, they can’t often pay attention to their children even though they are present around them. It can lead to the development of ADHD and other attention deficit disorders in some children.
What can you do to help them cope?
- Being open with your children and communicating with them will instil a sense of security in them.
- Don’t take out your frustrations on your children. They might already be scared and tense with all the changes in their life. So, be patient in dealing with them.
- Celebrate holidays, birthdays, and other events in their lives, so they don’t feel missing out on these experiences. But, take care not to have large gatherings or functions.
On that note, labour day is coming soon. It falls on a weekend this year. So, you can try to make it into a “labour-free weekend”. You can plan many activities that would be productive in your child’s development or just simply fun activities that you can do together as a family.
- Plan activities that are fun and will also help teach your children the value of labour.
- Allow children to participate in cooking and try to make it into a fun activity preparing your special labour day meals.
- Spend some lazy time with your children without having to think about any work or pending chores. You can talk to them during this time, tell stories or even listen to songs.
- Don’t talk about your work or pressures during the time. Try to disconnect from the internet and your mobiles and focus on the people around you.
- You can plan movie nights, where you let your children pick the movies they like and prepare awesome snacks for them.
There are many activities you can plan to make it a fun-filled labour free weekend that your children will always cherish as one of their favourite memories.
- You can use transparent face shields or masks in the place of the usual ones so children can see your facial expressions and mouth movements. Encourage all those who interact with your children to follow suit.
- Don’t put too much pressure on children to perform academically or in other things. Give them room to breathe.
- Try to make sure that your child can keep in touch with their friends. If they are young children without phones or laptops, let them call or video chat with friends regularly.
- With many parents at home all the time, children might feel their privacy is under threat. Keep in mind to respect their privacy and not to loom over them at all times.
- If you feel like your child is suffering from depression or any other issues, and you can’t handle it on your own, you should seek professional help.
- Use the time they spend at home to develop new skills and hobbies. Introduce them to the world of books. Encourage reading in children.
Your children might be affected by the pandemic in many ways that you might not have noticed. It might not be possible to shield them from all the effects of the pandemic, but we can take many steps to try to control the exposure they have to it and help them cope with the present situation. In these uncertain times, parents have to act as support systems that hold their children steady and upright. Children need to feel happy. Even amidst all the sadness and misery in the world, we should try our best so that our children can be happy. Don’t spare any effort towards that. All the best! 🙂
3 self-care tips for parents during COVID-19 | UNICEF
Exam Smart Tips
Exam Smart Tip #1 – How to Encourage Our Kids to Speak Better?
Exam Smart Tip #2 – How to avoid carelessness?
Exam Smart Tip #3 – Establishing Routines!
Exam Smart Tip #4 – Let’s Read Carefully!
Exam Smart Tip #5 – Beating the Exam Fever!
Exam Smart Tip #6 – How to Eat Right for the Exams?
Exam Smart Tip #7 – How to Avoid a Meltdown?
Exam Smart Tip #8 – Taking Stress out of Tests
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