HAPPY PARENT, HAPPY CHILD
Lately, we have all been hearing about the coronavirus frequently and taking precautions. We know the precautions we need to take for our physical health. What about our mental health? What do your emotions tell you? Our Guidance and Psychological Counseling Department made a series of suggestions for parents.
During this period, it is very important for parents to take care of themselves and feel good psychologically. Being alert about your body, worrying about yourself and your environment, and feeling fear/anxiety are actually normal and expected reactions to the situation we are experiencing. Remind yourself that the stress and negative emotions you experience are temporary. Take a break from looking at news about the epidemic. Find activities that will keep your mind occupied and pursue activities that you enjoy. If your anxiety is at a level that bothers you a lot, share it with someone from your family or friends.
Take Time for Yourself
Schools switching to distance education as a precaution, social isolation and staying in our homes actually led to the restriction of the "private" time that parents spare for themselves during the day. For working parents, the transition to working from home caused their time for work and themselves to be mixed. For this reason, it is very important to create special moments and make time for yourself in order to feel good, to spend this period productively, to rest and relax your mind. An activity you love, a job you've been thinking about but haven't started because you're busy, or just sitting down with a cup of coffee. It doesn't matter what you do, what matters is that you feel special in this moment.
Routines Are Important
Try to stick to your daily routines as much as possible. Pay attention to regular and healthy nutrition. Even if there are disruptions in your sleep patterns, make sure you get enough sleep. Since our active daily life suddenly becomes more static, try to engage in physical activities at home. You can do stretching, relaxation exercises and meditation.
Set Realistic Goals
These days, when you are both a parent, an employee and a teacher at home, the roles may be mixed. It is very important that you use your energy sparingly amidst all this intensity. So plan your work to be done. You cannot do every task at the same time or you may not be able to finish the task you planned to finish. Set realistic goals. Remember that this is a new process that requires adaptation for you. Remind yourself that you are trying your best and try to relax.
Try to Use Your Time Efficiently
It's up to you how you use the time spent at home. Think about how you can use this time more productively. Think about what you liked but couldn't make time for. Or take a look at what's being done right now. You may like puzzles, but if you've never tried them before because you couldn't find the time, now is the time. Remember that book you bought a long time ago but couldn't even open the cover of it yet? Or you can spare time for your handicraft, which you started as a passion but could not complete. If it is difficult to do these things with children, think of things you can do together. For example, putting away toys he hasn't played with for a long time, organizing his closet, or cooking.
Be understanding of yourself
You may not always be in the same mood. You may feel tired, bored or even exhausted. In this case, you will find it difficult to care for others. Give yourself time and remember your priorities. Remember that when you are physically, spiritually and psychologically well, you will provide better conditions for your family and children. Video chat with your loved ones, stay in touch with your friends. Remember that this is a temporary process.
It is very normal for you to have difficulty controlling your emotions during this process. We will offer you exercise suggestions to help you understand your emotions and relax your mind during this entire psychological process. Remember, if you have a healthy psychology, your child will go through this process with minimal damage.
Breathing Exercises
You can focus on your breathing for a few minutes with your eyes open or closed, with or without calm music. You can take it through your nose and give it through your mouth. After holding the breath in for a while, it is exhaled slower and longer without breathing through the mouth. During this process, it can be thought as if there is a balloon in the abdomen and it deflates and inflates when you breathe. Because the most important thing here is that the abdomen also participates in breathing. Taking deep breaths does not mean breathing fast. What is required from you is not to gasp for breath, but to breathe slowly but deeply enough to swell your abdomen. This breathing exercise can be done when experiencing extreme anxiety and tension, and contracting and releasing the entire body while doing this can be good for muscle tension and stress.
Safe Moment
Close your eyes and let your worries drift away. Imagine your comfortable environment. Make the picture as vivid as possible. Focus on everything you can see, hear, smell and feel. Let your own dream emerge. Enjoy the feeling of relaxation as you slowly explore your comfortable environment. When you are ready, slowly open your eyes and return to the present.
This epidemic that has affected the whole world is not our choice, but it is our choice how we will experience this process.
How should the curfew for children under 20 be explained within the scope of coronavirus measures?
Since the word we and children hear most these days is Coronavirus, every child has a right or wrong feeling about it. For this reason, fear and anxiety can be seen in children, just like in adults.
With the curfew for people under the age of 20, we may need to inform our children more about this issue. First, ask children what they know. If there are mistakes in what they know, be sure to correct them and explain them in a way they can understand. Then start transferring the new information. Transferring information without correcting the mistakes will do nothing but create confusion. It is beneficial that the information you convey consists of real information made by experts, not what you hear on social media.
The word forbidden may sound scarier to children. Try to understand their feelings. Instead of disregarding their feelings, make them feel that you truly understand them. You can reassure them by saying, "I understand you, this may seem like a scary situation, but actually this virus is like the flu, only doctors are still searching for the vaccine needed to treat it. If we take care of ourselves and stay at home, we will be safe, believe me."
Explain the curfew in a way they can understand. Children have already been spending their time at home since schools closed. Instead of emphasizing this as a prohibition, you can explain it as a rule. Just as there are rules in our classroom, school, and home, this is now a social rule. But this is a temporary rule, the only difference is that. We must obey this rule because we must protect ourselves and the people around us. You can explain that we need to stay at home, especially to protect our grandparents.
Don't forget to mention that this is a temporary situation. Also, explain that this ban is not just for him, all his other friends and all the children living in our country are at home right now, and that this is the situation not only in our country but also in the world. Explain that if we follow the rules and act carefully, good days will come soon and they can play with their friends in the parks again. You can even dream about what you will do and make a first to-do list.
