Impact of Lockdown on Children

Photo by Tadeusz Lakota on Unsplash

“No matter what you are going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” It may seem hard but with positive mind frame you will get through this is something that we all need to believe in during this tough time of lockdown due to covid-19.

The pandemic has not only caused a serious threat to life but has also impacted the lives of people sitting at home psychologically. The disruption in the routine and unable to go out freely has hidden effects for everybody.

The most vulnerable people in terms of the lockdown are very young children and very old ones so it is important to understand the necessity and protect their mental health.

It is important to realize that children completely depend on their parents/caregivers during this time. Children could face a lot of emotional disturbance, which may hamper their cognition and behavior.

Children would be unhappy sitting at home, not going out to play and not going to school and its important to talk to them about the same.

It is important for parents to explain about the coronavirus pandemic

• Let them know what’s going on
• Discuss hygiene and safety
• Talk about school closures
• Reassure them not to worry
• Emphasize the importance of reliable source

During this time lot of children may be overwhelmed by this situation and go into a shell. They may have emotions bottled up and hence it’s important to talk.

There are 8 ways a child’s anxiety shows up as something else

1. Anger
2. Difficulty in sleeping
3. Defiance
4. Emotional Outbursts
5. Lack of focus
6. Avoidance
7. Negativity
8. Over planning

Parents/Caregivers play a major role in easing out the anxiety and setting up a schedule for children during this tough time.

What parents can do?

• It is important to empathize and go down to their level and think
• Plan out a schedule for your children to keep them occupied positively (if young)
• Assign them with some household chores and make them feel responsible for the same
• Teach them something new and expand their skillset
• Be a role model for children
• Encourage them to be more creative and introduce them to some new art
• Play indoor game with them and spend time
• Spend quality family time by eating meals together, browsing through some old photo albums and discussing things
• Ask them to stay in touch with their friends through phone calls or messages
• Offer a listening ear of support to comfort them if they feel irritated or get angry
• Reassure them that this time will pass too and things will be back to normalcy
• Grow a plant together and ask them to water it regularly
• Motivate them to take some online lessons in something that they have always wanted to learn
• Teach them basics of cooking/baking
• Help them to clean their wardrobes/drawer and dispose off old and unwanted stuff
• Guide them to spend the time productively
• Keep a check on the screen time and keep a schedule for screen time since too much time isn’t a healthy habit
• Engage them in mind stimulating activities and tasks like solving a puzzle, crossword, reading etc
• Do some homebound exercise or physical activity like jumping, skipping, dancing so that it can be a part of the daily schedule.
• Keep the home environment positive and full of hope and stay away from all negative & fake news.

Remember to stay mentally healthy and form healthy habits since this is a difficult time and we have to come out of this positively.

Parita shah is a counseling psychologist  and founder and CEO of Psync360 in mumbai and has 10 years of work experience. She is a mother of 1 year old handsome boy. Her passion is to work with children with special needs and difficulties. She does marital counseling, teenage counseling and career counseling. She loves dancing and takes it as a stress buster.

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mom Store.