Illinois is strengthening its social distancing measures. We adults may have strong feelings about this. Your children may have “Big Feelings,” too. Different children respond differently to an outbreak depending on their age and personality. Below are some reactions according to age group and the best ways you as parents can respond.
PRESCHOOL CHILD’S REACTIONS:
HOW PARENTS CAN HELP :
SCHOOL-AGE (ages 6-12) CHILD’S REACTIONS:
HOW PARENTS CAN HELP :
ADOLESCENT (ages 13-18)
HOW PARENTS CAN HELP :
Adapted from: https://www.nctsn.org/resources/parent-caregiver-guide-to-helping-families-cope-with-the-coronavirus-disease-2019
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If your child wants a place to write about his/her thoughts and feelings, I created a journal that you can print out. It's 17 pages, but you can print whichever pages you'd like. The journal is in color, but it can also be printed in black and white. Click the image below to open the document. Enjoy!
Young kids are typically concerned about how big events will effect them personally. Even our most caring and thoughtful young children are still pretty self centered because of their stage of development.
School being closed unexpectedly is most likely causing some worry in our kids. I recommend that we share with them that 1) doctors are saying kids who get this virus haven't gotten very sick. They might get a fever and cough, and certainly not feel good, but they get better and are okay. 2) It’s also important for kids to know their parents will be okay, too. They need to know why schools are closed. It’s not because the virus is really bad for kids and teachers. All of the people we see at school are very likely going to be okay. 3) Schools are closed to protect the great-grandmas and great-grandpas in our town. If someone who is sick gets someone else sick and a great-grandma gets sick, she might not recover. So we all give up something we want, going to school, because we are taking care of other people. It's important to take care of each other and be good members of our community. We can use this change of routine to have some enjoyable time together. Take some deep breaths, think positive thoughts, and enjoy some games and movie nights. During Morning Mindfulness and kindergarten Second Step lessons, we are talking quite a bit about kindness and also about mindset. I’d love to hear about it if your child comes home and tells you all about our lesson, but that might not be the case. So, how about you mix up the questions you typically ask when school ends? Instead of “How was your day?” how about trying some of the following questions. It might be interesting!
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