While the COVID pandemic hasn’t quite ended, life is slowly reopening and people are starting to relax their social distancing measures. Maybe you’re thinking about resuming some normal activities for your child. As communities start releasing restrictions, is your child going through some post-COVID anxiety? If so, here are a few things that you can do to help.
Listen and Answer
You already know that being a parent can be a balancing act. What’s the happy medium between keeping your child in the dark and telling them too much? This balancing act is especially tough when it comes to the pandemic and the resulting post-COVID anxiety.
You can start by taking your child’s lead. If your child wants to talk about their pandemic-related feelings, don’t steer them toward another subject. Instead, validate them and let them know that you understand.
Some anxious children bottle their feelings up instead of voicing them, and if that sounds like your child, you may have to gently ask a few questions to get them to open up.
Either way, when your children ask you questions about COVID, answer them calmly. Even when you don’t know the answers yourself, your willingness to listen is the most important thing.
Play and Make Art
There’s a reason why child psychologists use play and art to get children to open up about their feelings. Play and art are children’s two most important languages. It’s easier for them to express themselves with these activities, especially if your child is still in preschool and developing early language skills.
You and your child can play make-believe together, or you can spend some time coloring pictures. Don’t push your child to think about their post-COVID anxiety while you play, but if anything comes up, with play and art you might gain some insights into what your child is feeling.
Start Slowly With Socializing Post Covid
After so much isolation, a bit of socialization may help your child reduce their post-COVID anxiety. You can slowly reintroduce socialization to your child’s life. Start by inviting one friend over to your house for a playdate. As the pandemic wanes, you might consider adding a few more friends into the mix. Later, you can work your way up to group activities and even summer camps.
Legacy Academy
With all of our activities at Legacy, we maintain a high level of commitment to safety. Do you have questions about our safety procedures, camp activities, or something similar? Feel free to get in touch with us. Our team would love to answer your questions.
