4 โ Make plans for quality time
Outings may be scarce, and vacations even scarcer. But you can still intentionally create space for spending individual quality time with each of your childrenโฆand time together as a family! When stress is high and schedules tight, special connecting time is even more necessary and valuable.
So budget some minutes for meaningful, slowed down, child-centered time every day. Investing in listening to your child will make it easier to recognize and validate your childโs (and your own) struggles. When you spend time deliberately connecting with your kids, youโll also โtune-inโ to their emotional states as well.
Which brings me to my last pointโฆ
5 โ Help your kids process their thoughts and emotions
While everyone in a family may experience similar life events, we donโt all react and respond to our circumstances the same way. What may not be as obvious is that childrenโs brains havenโt developed enough to easily make sense of all their (sometimes both conflicting and simultaneous) thoughts and feelings.
In the same moment, they may be sad that they canโt see their friends, but also feel scared about the future. As a parent, you are in a unique position to make space for them to name their feelings. You can explore and validate their expressed opinions about events theyโre witnessing and experiencing. And what a blessing it is to help your child feel heard and understood.
So thatโs it, youโre now totally prepared now for back to schoolโฆnot! Itโs going to be a wild ride. But what you do have are some new ways of approaching all the challenges 2020-21 will throw at you.
Remember you are not alone. Families all around the world are doing their best to navigateโalbeit clumsilyโthrough this pandemic. Find your tribe. Share your sob stories and successes together. And hopefully, you now have some tools for navigating the school year ahead to make it a successful one!