Michelle McVittie, child life specialist in community education
COVID has been a time of change, and change is hard.
Change is hard on us as parents, on our young children, and on our teenagers.
Acknowledge emotion
We’ve had a huge sense of loss and the unknown can be really scary.
We don’t have answers for ourselves or for our children.
This is a time of big emotion, so acknowledge that in yourself and acknowledge that in your children.
You can control your reaction
You have no control over what’s going on, about decisions being made, but you do have control over how you react.
What makes you feel better? Do you need a routine? What makes your children feel better? Do they need to be active every day? Do they need a little bit of alone time with you? What does that look like in your family?
Involve your children
Depending on the age of your children, ask them. See what would be helpful, try it out, have a family meeting. Meet with everybody individually and then come together as a group to make a plan.
Change it up as you need to.
We’re all in this together, and we’re here to support you.