Coronavirus has put every single person into doubt, and the constant news about the pandemic has brought a sense of fear in everyone. The lockdown period has increased the levels of stress and anxiety in adults and children in an unprecedented way. This is the time to do all we can to take care of our mental health and the mental health of our children.
How to take care of children’s mental health during Covid-19?
Children are experiencing a lot of changes right now. There is a disruption of everyday activities, including not being able to go to school, parks, and sudden split from friends. All they can see is the effects of stress on their parents. Children might find it extremely difficult to deal with change.
Here are a few tips on how to help your children get through this challenging situation:
- Manage your child’s anxiety
- Reassure your children that this is just a temporary phase and that it is a beautiful way to spend good time with their family members, who are otherwise busy with work.
- Listen to their concerns and try answering their queries.
- Give them the attention that they need.
- Set up a routine for children at home to study, attend classes, playtime, or recreational activities such as music, board games, screen time etc. Engage them in indoor activities and make them practice yoga, dancing, etc. There are many yoga asanas for kids that develops focus and concentration in children.
- Keep your children connected to their friends, cousins and loved ones by calling them up or through video calls.
- Smartphone addiction in kids is a serious problem. It can affect their overall health in many ways. Do not let them stay on screens all the time.
- Explain to your kids that social distancing is the best way to curb the spread of the virus and affecting people that they love.
8 Creative Activities for kids
As the weeks now turn into more than months and months of social distancing, you as a parent might be running away from ideas to keep your little ones busy during long hours at home. But don’t worry! We have some suggestions you might want to try to put the excitement back into your children’s routine. Check out these 8 creative activities for kids:
Write quarantine journals
Ask your child to put his/her thoughts about the coronavirus and social distancing on a book or a diary. There are chances that sometimes your child may put something into writing that they might not say to you. Writing a journal will help to clarify their thoughts and feelings, reduce their stress, help them know themselves better, and give you a proper insight on how they are dealing with the current situation.
- Gardening
Gardening is an enjoyable outdoor activity you can do it along with your child. You don’t need a very big yard to teach your child gardening, and a simple one is always better—plant roses or sunflowers in cups placed in a sunny window. Grow a small window garden of beautiful flowers. Use simple methods to teach your child about the basics of gardening such as healthy soil, water, and sunlight.
- Learn to cook
This lockdown is the right time to teach your kids some simple dishes so that they can make for themselves later. This will help them in the future in a positive way. You can encourage your kids by starting your own cooking blog, YouTube channel or an Instagram micro-blogging page.
- Educational games
Educational games motivate self-learning in children and can be considered as the best activities for kids. It also helps in incorporating problem-solving in children to a great extent. It merely means including knowledge matter of subject into the games. All types of games are considered as learning processes, be it casual gaming or something serious. This is also one better way to teach children with learning disabilities.
- Learn a new language
Learning a new language helps your child in many ways. It improves their memory, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, ability to multitask, etc. Numerous apps are available online designed specifically for learning new languages. Choose any simple, interactive app which you think will make learning fun. You can also try enrolling them for online classes.
- Yoga
Make your child practice yoga daily. This is one of the healthiest and the simplest things you can do along with your child. Yoga is considered great for improving overall well-being. It helps to keep your child’s mind calm – a necessity during this current difficult phase. In this way, you can also teach them the importance of good health and cultivate a great habit for their life.
- Art and Craft
Let your children explore their creative side by doing simple and easy craft projects. This will help your kids sharpen their artistic skills and keep themselves busy. Art and craft encourage them to use their imagination and get creative. There are many arts and crafts that kids can try it out. For example, you can try making a pile of unused or trash items that you longer use, such as empty bottles, broken appliances, wrappers, old newspapers, etc. Ask your kids to invent something out of these items and give them 10 to 15 minutes to complete the task.
- Make slime
Making slime is one of the best activities that keep kids active at home. While there are several DIY recipes available, try using the simple one which requires only three ingredients such as glue, contact lens solution and baking soda. To make slime, take a 6-ounce bottle of glue and mix half a teaspoon baking soda along with 2 – 3 tablespoons of contact lens solution. Using a mixing spoon, stir the slime until it starts to thicken. Once it forms into a blob, use the hands to mix and knead it. The slime will get harden to the point where it moves as one unit. Try to add food colours or glitters for extra fun.
Children are free-spirited, and they like to go out and interact with their friends. They very well dislike staying indoors for too long. It is, therefore, the responsibility of every parent to keep their children engaged during this pandemic phase with productive activities. Don’t force them to do something they don’t like; let them do what they love and enjoy doing.
If you feel that your child is not able to cope up with the pandemic situation and is dealing with lot of stress, talk with a doctor. You can consult doctor online and ask them suggestions.
