Don’t Miss Out On These 8 Parenting Tips During Coronavirus Outbreak!
- Updated on 27 May 2021
- Parents Corner
- Indrani Raha
Introduction
With all the schools and most of the workplaces closed due to the second wave of this pandemic, many of us have found ourselves dealing with a new and often very stressful family situation more than the last year. Working from home and running the household chores are making our livelihood difficult. The struggle is real, especially when most of us are unable to keep our toddlers on track with their virtual school work alongside. With the family often occupying the same space day after day, perhaps you need some parenting tips. Fear, uncertainty, and being caged at home to slow the spread of the second wave of COVID-19 is eventually making it challenging for our kids to keep a sense of calm.
As we are waiting for this pandemic to get over with bated breath, we parents are in constant fear of losing sight of how silently our children will fail in their mental health standards. This won’t be surprising if they suffer from depression and anxiety too often due to being confined to homes with their regular schedules disrupted. Locked at home, children nowadays experience a range of psychological issues – be it anxiety, depression, difficulty in sleeping, loss of appetite or acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and grief. Does your child go through any of these? Well, we know most moms out there will say, Yes! But don’t worry! All you need is to help them feel safe, keep up healthy routines, manage their behavior, and build resilience. While you search for all the essential tips right at your fingertip, we are here to get you covered with a few most crucial parenting tips. Read below to know more!
Eight Parenting Tips For Kids During Coronavirus Pandemic
As a parent, it’s easy to feel that you have multiple roles to fulfill that you can’t possibly perform fully. But it’s important to remember that this is a global health emergency that none of us have had to face before. Instead of beating yourself up, just go easy on yourself and follow these tips for maintaining a sense of work-life balance; you can keep your stress levels low and make each day a little easier for survival.
● Unregulated social media usage is affecting our children
We have noticed a sudden increase in social media platform usage due to limited access to regular interactions with their friends and peers. Be it the discovery of ‘Bois locker Room’ or any subsequent attempts to create new groups with false usernames, many young children are nowadays getting indulged in risk-taking activities. Whether it’s teenagers discussing female bodies and crimes like gang rape in jest, or people dismissing it as a matter related to the consequences lockdown- these all are the signs of unsupervised use of social media by the children who are physically closer to becoming an adult but are not mentally yet.
● Positive parenting tips during COVID-19 to beat the lockdown blues
As parents, we are facing a difficult time, but open communication can solve all the issues. Being an Indian parent, many of us are still not comfortable discussing intimate and complex topics such as sex and personal relationship and patriarchal society. To be frank, we are indirectly forcing them to look for biased information on the web to fill their curiosity and the void. Just like there is no right time to begin discussing these concepts with our children, it is never too late as well. We can always limit our children’s media exposure to news, especially those that promote scientifically unverified or alarming content. Adhering to the facts and letting our teens know that they are safe with us and that we will be there for them- is the best thing you can do to uplift their mood.
● We can find out how our children are feeling and what they are thinking about
It’s okay to feel scared or unsure in the current situation. Moreover, to help them beat this situation, we need to encourage them to ask questions and answer their queries honestly. Children usually rely on their parents for safety, both physically and emotionally. So, we need to reassure them that we all will get through this together. As we are still unaware of coming back to “normal days,” why don’t we introduce them to some engaging activities to fill in the extra time? Be it asking them to take up a new hobby, be it asking them to help us in the kitchen, or watching movies with us, certain activities are surely going to help them come out of the trauma. We can also include academic work, chores, play, interaction with peers and relatives over the phone, or using other forms of technology and family time. A bit of yoga, exercises, stretches, and skipping would also help.
● Communication and self-care are one of the best parenting tips ever
Good communication between a parent and child is the key to a good relationship. Making them well-aware of the corona pandemic and safety precautions that need to be taken at all times is the best way we can help them to deal with such situations. Besides that, it’s crucial to let them know about the possibility of family members going into isolation to keep themselves stable both mentally and physically later in the situation.
● Teaching them to maintain hygiene is the best part.
Children are best known for “not maintaining hygiene.” As parents, we need to put extra effort into instilling this good habit in them. How? By adding a touch of fun to it. We can sing a lullaby for 20 secs or probably can offer them points and praise for regular hand washing.
● Limit their screen time
There’s a significant rise in the amount of time spent by kids on electronic media, be it tabs, TV, or phone. Excessive screen time not only can affect mental well-being but also lead to childhood obesity. So we always have to monitor their activities online, the content they consume and the time spent. We can even monitor it better by installing Apps to check screen time where we can easily set a timer for the usage in a day.
● Special time in
Yes, indeed, we can’t go to work, yes it’s true that schools are closed. In fact, we have started worrying much about money these days, and it is entirely normal to feel stressed and overwhelmed during such critical situations. Apart from all these obstacles, dear parents, did you realize that the school shutdown has given you a chance to make your relationship even better with your children and teenagers? One-on-One time is free and fun. It makes children feel loved, secure and shows them that they are essential. It’s no secret that with constant work from home and loaded with office work, we usually get tired and get less time to spend some quality time with our little ones for the past few months. While we understand, our children won’t. So it would be perfect if we set aside some quality time with our children for at least 10 or 30 minutes a day, no matter what it takes. This way, your child will feel special and will realize their importance in your life.
● Giving teens as much independence as is safe and possible
We need to let our children make their own decisions only if they are ready to pay attention to local and national authorities’ orders and medical professionals’ guidance. Not just that, as parents, we need to figure out ways teens can be safe, brief them about how difficult it might be to be away from friends for now, and explain to them how we appreciate these efforts. Giving teens as much space as possible in the household is the best way to make them feel independent even though they cannot step out. If possible, we must provide them a private area in the home so that our teen can spend time each day.
The Final Thought!
The good thing is, although parenting is challenging yet, it’s rewarding, which usually comes much later. But if we give our best now, we will eventually reap the rewards and would not have anything to regret. This is a time for pride. So, we all need to utilize this time to support each other so that our teens can look back with pride, knowing that going through this together made it better. For example, you can give kids age-appropriate jobs. Who knows, maybe your elder kid is good at helping your younger one study when both of you are busy working from home? They can even set the dining table, help keep house spaces clean, or do dishes. Even toddlers can learn to keep their beds and rooms clean. Working as a team even at home will help your whole family stay busy and make sure no one person is overwhelmed. And finally! As parents, we should take pride in ourselves in whatever we have been doing since the coronavirus outbreak started!
Happy Parenting!
Stay Safe, Stay Healthy!
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