Today has been a LONG and TRYING day. I had to go grocery shopping which consisted of waiting in multiple lines for toilet paper, Lysol, and eggs. Many things were COMPLETELY GONE like canned goods, pasta, sanitizer, baby wipes and diapers.
The hardest part of shopping today was feeling everyone’s anxiety and seeing fear in the eyes of young children not quite sure why they were wearing masks and gloves. My heart hurt for them and my brain kept wondering “WHY?” This atmosphere is overwhelming for an adult, why expose little ones to it?
5 Tips For Parents
1.) Be open with your kids but keep their respective ages in mind.
2.) Reassure them “mommy & daddy are trying our BEST to keep us ALL healthy” but avoid over promising.
3.) Empower them so they feel less powerless by letting them know that washing their hands and covering their sneezes and coughs can protect them.
4.) Do daily check-ins to keep the conversation open and the anxiety to a minimum. At dinner have everyone say a good thing and bad thing about their day.
5.) Reduce their exposure to the virus and social anxiety to a minimum. If one parent can do it alone – then one parent goes out.
Hope these tips are helpful.