Below are links and quotes directly from various articles and websites that give tips and advice to parents/ carers on how to support their children, and themselves, during the lockdown.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/coronavirus-advice-suppport-children-families-parents/
Whether you're working from home with your kids for the first time or supporting children with anxiety due to coronavirus, we've got tips and advice for you.
‘Don’t make a drama’: a survival guide for parents during family isolation
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/mar/22/family-isolation-guide-for-parents-teenagers-coronavirus-lockdown
To ease these tensions, she recommends parents work in shifts, taking turns to supervise the children, and set aside time to chat and listen to each other’s concerns each day, in a room away from the kids.
“Your number one job as a parent at the moment is to keep your children well and that means looking after their mental health as well as their physical health,” she says.
“You could say to them: you are so lucky. You are one of the few year groups ever to get this opportunity. How are you going to use it?” says Drummond. Teens may not yet have twigged that, in the future, universities or employers will be asking them how they spent their time off.
Hughes predicts that the three main things that children are going to miss are their usual routine, their chance to connect with their community and their opportunities to be successful and accomplish things. “We need roles, identity and productivity, even from the age of three.”
“It doesn’t matter if the accomplishment is curriculum-based. It can be learning to make mum a cup of tea, putting pasta in a bowl or drawing a picture for someone so they feel connected to the people they are missing. Even if that gift never gets given, because you are self-isolating, the child has felt that moment of connection.”
Is Your Child Spiraling Out of Control During Lockdown?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/zero-six/202004/is-your-child-spiraling-out-control-during-lockdown
How to set loving limits so kids feel safe and secure in their shifting world.
Coronavirus: How UK parents and communities are helping their kids through the loneliness of lockdown
https://www.worldvision.org.uk/news-and-views/blog/2020-blogs/april/coronavirus-how-uk-parents-and-communities-are-helping-their-kids-through-loneliness-lockdown/
Children 5-11 years old are more likely than older children to become clingy, cry and have tantrums and disturbed sleep. Children over 12 years old are more likely to become withdrawn.
The survey found that girls tend to show their distress at the coronavirus upheaval in a different way to boys. Girls are more likely to become more easily upset and complain of ailments like stomach aches and headaches. Boys are more likely to become fidgety and fight more.
“Parents can give their children emotional support, reduce their stress levels, and help them feel safe and secure. It is important that parents find out what their children have heard and listen to their concerns. They should talk calmly and explain what is happening in a way appropriate to their children’s level of understanding. It may be easier for young children to draw a picture rather than talk about something scary. Offer them crayons and paper so they can do this.”
