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Family Mental Health: Helping Your Child During COVID-19

08.05.20 | Articles, Bethany News | by Marnee Loftin

Family Mental Health: Helping Your Child During COVID-19

    Parents in particular deserve a special hand for their incredible flexibility and commitment to keeping their children safe and happy. Elementary-aged children will be facing new concerns and having new questions as school resumes.

    We have all managed to negotiate five months of the pandemic, and parents in particular deserve a special hand for their incredible flexibility and commitment to keeping their children safe and happy. And yet, another challenge now awaits us. Despite the joy some may feel of school resuming, the pandemic presents a new chapter. Elementary-aged children will be facing new concerns and having new questions. Some of these concerns and questions, as well as some ways to address them, include the following:

    Misinformation about COVID

    Being with more children in less-structured situations will mean new questions. Sometimes the questions will be based upon misinformation. Try to answer your child’s question honestly, but avoid broad, condemning statements about the inaccuracy of the information. In each answer, reassure the child that you are always available to answer questions.

    Concerns about wearing masks

    Children will be with other children who have concerns over the wearing of masks; some will come from families who see masks as unnecessary, and vice versa. Remind your child that masks are meant to protect others. If concerns continue, help your child develop a practiced response to others who may be complaining about this requirement.

    Listen Carefully to your Child’s Questions

    Parents often give more information than the child really needs or wants. Answer the specific question your child is asking and encourage your child to ask if he or she needs more information. It is not unusual for a child to come back later and ask for more information. Children process information more slowly than adults do. It is better to have multiple short discussions than to have one long parental lecture!

    Be a Positive Role Model

    Children always look to adults for ways to respond during stressful situations. As schools reopen, many changes will occur. Some are likely to be frustrating and ones you wish to change. Keep comments private and avoid discussions in front of your child. Negative discussion will simply bring added stress to him or her. Your child may not even see the problems that concern you. If the child does independently ask about a problem, help develop some immediate strategies to cope. It will also help your child deal with feelings of competencies, as well as develop happiness in the current situation, even as you work to make any needed changes.

    Watch for Troubling Behavior

    A few children will have more problems moving back into school than his or her peers. Stress ways such as handwashing and social distancing, which help keep the child safe. Teaching stress reduction techniques such as deep breathing. Observe for sleep problems, regression to old behaviors, clinging to parents, and significant changes in appetite. Consult a physician if these behaviors, or others that alarm you, continue.



    ABOUT MARNEE LOFTIN

    Marnee and her husband, Patrick, have been members of Bethany UMC for 5 years. Both are cradle Methodists, and have enjoyed being new members of this congregation. Marnee participates in the Special Needs, Mental Wellness and New Shepherd Ministry. She and her husband met while attending UT at Austin, and have been residents of Austin and the surrounding area for more than 50 years. They are the parents of two children and are now happily spoiling three teenage grandchildren who live near them in Cedar Park. Marnee retired after working as a School Psychologist for more than 35 years, and they are enjoying a chance to travel to many destinations on their bucket list. As with everyone, life has been a little less exciting recently. However, she now has the cleanest closets and drawers in Cedar Park!