How can we interact with children under the current circumstances?

This article is about how to interact with children. In such uncertain circumstances, it is natural for caregivers to have unusual feelings or reactions. Those feelings or reactions are an  important resource that can help you realize your fatigue.

Please don’t worry even if you cannot do everything which is written here. First of all, please take care of yourself and that is very important. actually taking care of yourself is the most important thing.

Focus your attention on their mental and physical changes

・Please pay attention to their condition or behaviors which are different from usual.
・Children may get confused and not know how to handle the situation and they might have more things that they cannot do by themselves compared to usual circumstances. At such times, don’t rush them but observe them carefully to see what might have caused the trouble.

How to communicate with children

・Show that you accept your child’s feelings by describing them with words.
(Ex: So, you felt sad, didn’t you?
You didn’t like it, did you?
You are happy, aren’t you?
You had a good time, didn’t you?)

・Some children don’t know if they are anxious or not by themselves, so try to help them discover how they feel by identifying changes in their physical condition.
(Ex: Your face looks red.
Your heart is beating faster than usual.
Your body seems more tense than usual.)
・Use positive expressions when talking to children. Even things that seem obvious to adults, might take effort for your child to accomplish.
(Ex: You could brush your teeth by yourself!
You could change your clothes. Good job!)
What we can do in our daily lives

・Let your children have as many choices as possible and respect their choices. When it’s difficult to accept their wishes, suggest another option or explore options together with them. ★When circumstances that are beyond our child’s control last for a long time--for example, when schools are closed or events canceled--it’s important to let children make even small choices by themselves.

・Take time to relax and have fun

・Provide appropriate physical contact and allow time for relaxation.
(Ex: Taking deep breaths; making a fist and then relaxing the hand; if your children don’t mind being touched, you can give them a back massage.)

・Maintain as many usual habits as possible.
(Keeping a regular life style can provide a sense of relief. For example, by going to bed or having meals at regular times.)

・Include time for outdoor play if there is a proper environment for it. It’s very important for children to play or to get exercise.
We will give some advice for how to arrange for children who are in difficult circumstances to play outside in the near future.

If your children are still very young, they might act like a baby and try harder to get your attention. It’s nice to share things with your children however when you are not able to respond to their demands, you can prepare a “treasure box”. You could say, for example,“I’ll look at the treasure you want to share with me at ___ o’clock. I’m looking forward to seeing it later.” 

Then ask the child to put it in the box. If it’s a picture or painting, you could tell the child,“As it looks nice, please hang it in that (paper) frame on the wall; I’ll look at it at ___ o’clock. Looking forward to it.” Then ask the child to decorate the frame, making their work stand out even more and appear special.
It’s important for everyone to do proper infection control, but please encourage your child with positive messages, like “Let’s wash our hands to protect our health!” instead of saying “You’ll get sick if you don’t wash your hands.” If you add elements of play to the routine of hand washing, like singing or playing a game, they will be able to enjoy the experience.

First of all ,please take care of yourself and remember you are an important person.

▶︎The original article（written in Japanese）

                                                                     translator: Miwako Dias

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