Parenting
Supporting Children Through the Coronavirus Pandemic: What Parents Can Do STORY Dr Rosina McAlpine, CEO Win Win Parenting. It’s scary! We’re experiencing a pandemic. Supermarket shelves are empty. Families are fighting over toilet paper. Events are being cancelled. Days off work and school. Rising fear due to loss of income and increased financial stress. Potential self-isolation and going a little stir-crazy. Endless cycles of bad news with reports highlighting the exponential rate the virus is spreading and the increasing number of deaths worldwide. The whole situation is inciting more and more fear as the days go by. Right now, there’s no end in sight. Adults and children are confused, anxious and worried about the future. As a parent, you might be “just coping” yourself but what about the children? Are your children acting out? Seeming a little more anxious or stressed? As a parent you want to do everything you can to help your children be safe and feel safe – but perhaps you’re unsure how to help.
Here are seven practical strategies to alleviate your children’s fear and stress levels and to help them develop the resilience they need to get through these challenging times.
1. Are You OK? Children look to their parents for how to respond to a situation. If you’re not coping with the current situation, if you seem anxious and fearful this will increase their concerns. Being aware of your emotions and finding ways to calm yourself will help you to “be there” for your children. The calmer and more in control you are, the easier it will be to help them through their anxieties, fears and tears. If you can’t quite manage on your own – talk to a member of the family, a trusted friend or seek help from a professional. Remember the flight safety instructions on an aeroplane; put on your oxygen mask first before you help your children. The same applies here.
www.pakmag.com.au | April 2020 15
