With the 2020 school year coming to a close, many children equate that with running outside to go explore and play with their friends. Since Covid-19, however, this pandemic has severely limited what’s possible for children to do with their free time. Although adults are getting vaccinated quickly, there are still a few months at least before adolescents can begin receiving a Covid vaccine. Already having to deal with limited exposure to friends for over a year may start leading children to feelings of loneliness and persistent isolation. How can you help your kids further cope through these continuing months?
Virtual Communication
Kids tend to have a harder time expressing their feelings, thus making it trickier for to not feel as alone as adults when needing to socially distance and not visit friends and family. It’s important to keep in good communication with them at all times to ensure they feel heard and have the tools and resources they need to talk with their friends, be it a laptop, a cell phone, or other electronic device. Social distancing can prevent kids from spending time with their peers during a vital period of growth and social development. Making sure they can reach out and talk to their friends and schoolmates more frequently than before can help them form social bonds and deter friendships from crumbling.
Your children will need devoted amounts of time for talking with friends, and the easiest way of doing that is through video chat or phone calls. Utilizing computers, tablets, cell phones and more can help them connect with their friends and talk about anything and everything. With schooling at home most likely comes more free time as well, and some of that time can be towards writing letters or notes to friends and talking to them. If your children are older, they may prefer texting than calling, or talking with their friends on an online video game platform. You may have to bend the rules about any previous screen time regulations during all of this, but in the long run it will be beneficial. If your children are using more chat rooms and video game platforms, make sure it’s safe for them by enacting any parental controls if necessary or need be.
Stay in Touch
If your children are used to seeing their relatives often, this can also be a hard blow to overcome during such a long period of time. Encouraging your family to call or video chat often can help combat loneliness, and give your children something to look forward to. Remember to be open to your children, allowing them to come to you for any matter, whether big or small. Allow your child to lead the discussions, and acknowledge their feelings. Being there for your children no matter what will help them combat any incoming loneliness, and gives them a chance to reach out and explore these feelings in a more positive tone.
HomeschoolFacts.com has a complete list of support groups to help support you in your homeschooling endeavors and connect with homeschoolers near you. You can search the list of support groups here: https://www.homeschoolfacts.com/homeschool-support-groups.html