Covid-19 pandemic has posed a considerable stress for the world, especially the children. Given their lack of experience and limited coping skills, they are experiencing difficulties in contemplating the novel situation. Let us look at some of the responses of children, to the following questions.
What is corona/ coronavirus, according to you?
A six-year-old boy responds, “those are bad germs following us like ghosts”.
What has changed for you, because of corona?
“I can’t go to school and I really miss meeting my friends. We used to play hide and seek every day. At home, there is no place to hide or run!”, responds a 10-year-old boy whose school was shut down abruptly.
“Over the weekends, I used to visit my nani house and have a lot of fun with my cousins. I don’t know when I will be able to see them”, answers a 9-year-old girl who is the only child having no siblings.
“I wish to see my grandparents; I am worried about them. I don’t want them to catch corona…” says a 11-year-old whose friend recently lost his grandfather.
I was so excited about my upcoming cricket tournament, but it all got cancelled; I am not even able to go for coaching classes, expresses a 16year old state level cricket player.
What are you worried about, because of corona?
I am scared, I worry about getting infected with corona. I want my family to be safe; replies a 12-year-old anxious child.
“I want to know when my regular school would start; I want to see my teachers, play in the field with my friends, and have fun during the lunch break”; says a 7th grade child.
This is a confusing time and children have become more susceptible to anxiety. The fear of losing loved ones can be debilitating. They are worried about their family members and thus the feelings of insecurity have increased. The constant negative news has further worsened the situation for them.
Their routine has been disrupted, and they are wondering when it would be normal again. Although, they are enjoying the online classes in the comfort of their homes, they are missing their play time with friends, running freely in the fields, working with each other, collaborating in extra-curricular activities.
The disrupted routine has brought additional challenges. The sleeping pattern and eating habits has been adversely affected. This coupled with minimum or no physical activity, is proving to be detrimental for child’s wellbeing. Some of the negative outcomes seen in children are obesity, high intake of junk food, prolonged screen exposure and increased social media usage.
The need of the hour is to help children enhance their resilience. We can help the children by encouraging them to create and follow a healthy routine as it will give them a sense of purpose. The routine must incorporate ample time for physical activity. There are numerous activities that can be done at home to enhance physical resilience-skipping, stretching, yoga, aerobics, dance.
Psychological resilience can be increased by adopting a positive outlook. Children must be encouraged to reframe a challenging situation by focusing on its positive aspects. Every difficult situation makes us learn something new and in turn makes us stronger. Secondly, it is crucial for children to have a healthy social support i.e. people they can trust and share their feelings with. Parents can be their strong social support by helping them understand the situation, clarifying all their doubts and assuring them that it too shall pass. Thirdly, enhancing child’s self-esteem is fundamental in making them mentally strong and confident. Parents can encourage the child to explore his/her potential and see what they are good at so they can further refine their skills, which in turn will enable them to think positively about themselves. This can be done by encouraging the child to take up hobbies like art & craft, calligraphy, music, instrumental, dance, to name a few.
A child has its own way of processing events and sometimes can get overwhelmed by situations that may seem small to adults. As parents and as their guide, it is essential to understand them, accept their viewpoint and help them enhance their coping skills to overcome their challenges.
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