How to Help Your Family Cope with Numbness and Isolation During COVID-19

Do you notice that your child or teen is feeling more frustrated and hopeless as the shelter-in-place directive continues? I’m hearing from so many families that things seem to be getting increasingly worse. With thousands of schools switching their grading systems to Pass/Fail, many kids are doing the minimal amount of homework to get by. Some may not be keeping up with hygienic routines. Others have reverted to less mature coping skills, erupting and arguing more than they typically do. What can you do to combat their numbness, hopelessness or regressive behaviors? The first step is acknowledging their very real losses and emotional pain. Nothing is familiar any more. They’ve had to let go of daily casual peer contact at school, planned social get-togethers, familiarity of learning environments and teacher interactions — the list goes on and on. Without having things to look forward to, they may get enraged or shut down. This is especially true for kids who’ve had special events like graduation, sports seasons, dance recitals, and more cancelled without warning. You may well be experiencing pushback and aggression in your family that you thought you’d moved beyond or is completely new. Here are some common family struggles and useful tools for dealing with them more effectively: 1. When kids are stressed, anxious and vulnerable, they act out their concerns with you. A 10-year-old boy shared his fear and confusion about living with COVID: “We don’t...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Children and Teens Family Parenting Students Coping Skills coronavirus COVID-19 home school regressive behavior Source Type: blogs