Coronavirus, a global pandemic, has brought a lot of unprecedented challenges into the lives of parents. Schools have been closed, and the children are staying at home for avoiding community spread.
In the situation, parents who are working from home have to juggle between work and tackling their child. During the lockdown, the house has changed into one’s office, gym and classroom. Some children are showing regressive behavior as the stress is building upon them.
Parents have to teach their children and keep them engaged so that they won’t demand to go outside. It is natural for the parents to feel annoyed and burdened, but there are some ways to make a situation seem less bad.
Children are staying upset or anxious as they cannot go outside or meet their friends, so it is a challenging thing for the parents to shift the focus of their child from the cons of this situation.
Effectively Parent Your Child During This Pandemic
Prepare A Structure
When the day starts if you don’t have a proper structure or routine for the day, then it will build up anxiety in children. When you prepare the structure, you can include the predictability of uncertain times. It will also help the children to feel accomplished when they do something.
When it comes to scheduling the day, do not overdo it and try to keep it moderate. Keep the waking up, and bedtime fixed and make other flexible changes.
Spend Quality Time Together
Even if you are spending 20 minutes every day with your child, it can mean a lot to them. It will help them in feeling understood, calmer, and supported. Try to engage in plays that will be directed by your child as it will help in cementing the bond between you and your child.
It will also help in increasing the child’s self-esteem and confidence. If your child is old, then you can play some boardgame or engage in their hobbies.
Encourage The Child To Cultivate Hobbies
Most children learn things through their school, but parallelly one must focus on creative pursuits as well. A hobby can be anything starting from singing, writing, dancing, playing guitar, drawing, reading, painting, etc.
During this lockdown encourage your child to engage in creative activities that will help in bringing joy and a sense of fulfillment in their life. Hobby also helps in enhancing one’s cognitive and emotional wellbeing.
Limit Media Consumption
Set a limit on the media consumption of children as well as your family. Repeated news about coronavirus can cause exhaustion, confusion, and scare the child.
Limit the daily intake of news depending on their developmental level. This will also help in keeping the household calmer.
Engage In Developmental Task
Depending on the developmental cycle and age of the child you can allow them to engage in some developmental tasks like folding laundry, rolling the dough, cleaning up the place after painting, putting their toys in place, etc.
It will help you to reduce your task and at the same time, keep the child engaged. Do not overdo it and try to monitor the task and supervise them when needed.
Notice Them
If a child is too young, then you can keep them in the close notice. Appreciate your child and praise them when needed. It will help in enriching your relationship and promote positive behavior in children.
Consider Their Level
Try to create multiple playtimes that will help in keeping the kids engaged and manage their behavior and emotion. It helps in strengthening cognitive skills and cement parent-child bonding. You can also participate with them and engage in imaginative play.
Avoid Reacting
Sometimes the situation may go out of control, but it is always recommended to avoid reacting. Being critical or reacting to your child when they make mistakes can make things worse for them during the lockdown. Try to ask for an apology from the child if you say harsh words or show unpleasant outbursts.
Set Some Boundaries
It is essential to set boundaries when you are working from home. Try to create a space where you will be able to work peacefully. You can also set a place alongside the workspace for your child to do their homework. It will help in working productively.
You can also set a timer and ask the child that after the timer goes off, you will play with them. When you share the plan with the child, then they won’t interrupt you while working. It would be best if you are thankful to your child when they are allowing you to work peacefully. Do not use threats as a way of parenting your child during this time.
Explain The Situation In Their Language
The child will be curious about coronavirus and why it is creating such chaos worldwide. It would be best if you use a language that your kid will be able to understand correctly. Explain to them the situation depending on their mental age. Explain what it causes and what harm it can bring to us.
Use the words properly; otherwise, it can make the child feel anxious and be scared about the situation. Tell them about the precautions that they need to take during this time as it will also help the child to gain valuable insights into the situation.
Connect With the Friends And Family With Technology
During this lockdown, your child will miss their friends and grandparents. So pick a day when you will help them to connect with their close ones by making video calls to them.
Stay Positive
During the time of the pandemic, you will find a lot of people who are going through stress and are pessimistic about the situation. Having a negative outlook towards the situation is not going to bring any good to you and your family, so try to stay positive and follow all the precautions.
Takeaway
The final tip is to not be harsh on yourself. It will get overwhelming at times, but one must not lose their calmness and monitor the situation accordingly. People are staying indoors so they are going to get a lot of time that they can spend with their family to strengthen their bond.
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Mother of Two children. I’m a former teacher with a background in child development and a passion for Good parenting. I understand child development and know how to develop activities to help children learn and grow. Spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, and volunteering in my community.