Helping your child navigate our new pandemic reality
Posted April 26, 2020 9:20 am.
Last Updated April 26, 2020 12:29 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Children crave structure and routine, but COVID-19 has taken a lot of that away.
An educator and author has tips on how to make your home more like school.
“Routines give us safety and security and that predictability is what we all need right now,” explains Lindsay Sealey, author of Rooted, Resilient & Ready: Empowering Teen Girls As They Grow.
LISTEN: Rooted, Resilient & Ready
She suggests imposing some kind of order, not unlike what your child is used to in the classroom. For example, try to stick to a schedule.
“Make a plan for the day,” she says. “And in that plan is the school work that has to get done, the assignments that are due, and things like chores around the house.”
Find a space and make it your own
Many parents may have grown up doing homework on the kitchen or dining room table, but Sealey says that’s not always practical these days, especially in a busy household.
Her advice to kids: find a space and make it your own. “I think it’s important to find that space and to be consistent with the space,” she says.
“As I tell students, ‘Try to be as neat and clean and organized in that space, because when we have clutter, our brain also feels kind of cluttered and cloudy.”
Learn to let go
High school grad celebrations will also look a lot different this year because of COVID-19. “Well, I think, first of all, we have to help them through this idea of letting go,” Sealey says.
She stresses it’s important to highlight the positive in this or any situation…and look for opportunities for growth. “So, if anything, I tell my students, ‘Start planning, start creating,'” Sealey explains.
“There are many of them already thinking about, ‘Can we do this online? Could we find a field for example?’ What a story we’ll have to tell.”
Rooted, Resilient, and Ready: Empowering Teen Girls As They Grow is available from Life Tree Media.
Today on @NEWS1130: @lindsaysealey, author of "Rooted, Resilient, and Ready," talks about how to help your kids adjust to our new #COVID19 reality. "Routines give us safety and security and that predictability is what we all need right now." #1130bookshelf @zgcomms @LifeTreeMedia pic.twitter.com/ee3E9y5Rt0
— John Ackermann ???? (@jackermann) April 26, 2020
