Communicating with Children during Pandemic
The COVID-19 virus, which has affected the whole world, has caused people to spend time at home for a long time. The change in all living habits within the pandemic period affects not only adults but also children. With the suspension of education, children's social lives have also been severely restricted. Children stay away from all social areas that help them gain new skills such as kindergartens, nurseries and children's clubs. Therefore, families need to manage this process very well for their children.
It should be underlined that communication with children has become much more important during the pandemic. Of course, it is a very important responsibility for parents to control stress and anxiety. Because in this process, the stress of the parents is also reflected on the children, and therefore, it cannot be prevented that the children are negatively affected by the process. Families being more sensitive and careful in their communication with their children can ensure that the pandemic process can be overcome more smoothly. So, what do experts suggest in this regard?
Explain the Situation to Your Children!
First of all, you need to explain the situation without scaring the children. Pretending that nothing is happening and not explaining the situation to children can cause them to worry more and get under serious stress. It is important to explain the situation without using words like 'death' or 'pandemic'. It is also important to explain calmly in a family conversation. You can talk about the existence of a new microbe in the world and the fact that it causes a disease such as influenza by giving examples. It is also important to use language that children can understand, such as 'Do you remember once you had a fever and got sick? This germ causes a similar illness'.
Children will definitely ask questions such as 'why are we always at home', 'why can't I go to the park'. You can answer these questions with calming explanations such as 'we will spend some time together at home playing games to avoid getting sick, it will be fun for our family'. You can talk about what you will be doing at home so that the situation is no longer frightening for the children. However, you need to explain to the children that you are staying at home as a precautionary measure, that their friends are also at home and that this situation is temporary.
Don't Make Exaggerated Sentences!
Let us also mention that experts underline a critical point in this regard. Families should not make exaggerated sentences such as 'we will never get sick', 'nothing will happen to us', 'we can go to the park after a week'. Because such sentences cause the situation to turn into a contradictory dimension for children. Children may start asking questions such as 'why don't we go to the park if nothing happens to us? The aim of families should only be to make children understand the situation. It would not be right to make promises and exaggerated sentences while doing this.
Of course, sentences like 'we might die if we go outside' should never be used! At the same time, it is important to keep children away from news about death. Children should know that there are health workers who take care of people who are sick and that people who are sick are being treated right now. Do not hesitate to inform them, provided that it is appropriate for their age. Answer each question they ask calmly. In this way, you will make the process meaningful for children and they will be able to adapt to the new rules more easily.
Normal life at home must continue!
You should never forget that for children, routine means 'trust'. For this reason, children's lives at home should continue as normal. Bedtimes, playtimes, feeding times should not be changed and the house rules that were in place before should be strictly maintained. It is not right to let them sleep later, or to allow them to eat more junk food to keep them from getting bored. Because once this process is over, you will want the old rules to apply again and it will be very difficult to explain this to your children. Therefore, it is very important to maintain normal life at home and the existing rules during the pandemic. The emotion that children need most during this period is trust. You should definitely give your children the feeling that they are safe.
Teach Hygiene Rules!
The whole family should pay maximum attention to hygiene during the pandemic. You should teach your children hygiene rules and be patient in this process. Shouting, scolding or punishing children in cases such as forgetting to wash their hands are behaviors that you should definitely avoid. You should patiently try to explain the importance of hygiene to your children every time. You can also use methods such as gamification or storytelling so that these rules do not cause stress in children. You can read books or tell stories about the importance of hygiene and cleanliness. These and similar methods can make it much easier for children to grasp and accept some new rules.
Children Take You as a Role Model!
Of course, it is not enough just to explain the rules. You can also set a good example for children by letting them see that you follow the rules too. Children always look up to the parents who are closest to them as role models. If you are stressed, nervous, angry or anxious, it is impossible to make your child feel calm and safe. Although your words may be in this direction, your facial expressions and even your gaze are important for children and may contain a message. Therefore, it is not enough to pay close attention to communication with your children during the pandemic. At the same time, you should never forget that you are an 'example' for them.
Sometimes you may not be able to hide your feelings. In such cases, giving information to your children with explanatory statements will help them feel safe. At the same time, 'uncertainty' causes children to be confused, stressed and anxious. This is the reason why experts often advise 'explain to your children, tell them about the situation, don't pretend that nothing has happened'. The pandemic is a challenging time for adults. However, you need to pay attention to all these things so that your children are not affected, or at least as little as possible.
Be Simple and Easy to Understand!
Being clear and easy to understand is the most important roadmap for families in times of crisis. Avoid giving children unnecessary information. Keep it simple and easy to understand. At the same time, you should also avoid making contradictory explanations. Explanations given to children by parents or other family members should be similar. One of the issues that experts emphasize the most is that explanations can confuse children even more, and in order to prevent this, it is necessary to choose clear and easy-to-understand sentences.
Let's explain the issue with an example. Children often hear the words coronavirus or COVID-19 in the news and in conversations. Therefore, they will definitely ask their parents what this is. If the mother answers 'it is a new type of virus and it causes people to get sick' and the father answers 'it is a small creature that is invisible to the eye and enters the body through the mouth or nose', it is impossible for children not to be confused.
Therefore, parents need to give the same explanation in similar sentences on critical issues such as 'what is corona'. However, in order not to give unnecessary information, you should make sentences that contain only the answer to the question as much as possible. When answering the question 'what is corona', you do not need to go into topics such as that it has affected the world, that it started in a country called China, that it has spread rapidly around the world.
