In the environment of epidemic prevention and control, people are prone to emotional problems. Compared with adults, children's physiology and psychology are in the critical period of development, and their ability to adapt to environmental changes is weaker, so parents should not only do a good job of physical protection of children, but also pay attention to children's psychological protection. What causes children to have psychological problems during the pandemic? How to solve children's psychological problems? Experts from Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital gave parents a few suggestions.
According to experts, children will be curious about the epidemic, such as why they should wear masks and isolate, and at the same time, there will be tension and anxiety about the virus, illness and other issues. The sheer volume of media coverage can also further exacerbate children's anxiety. Even if infants and young children do not understand what is happening, but often during the epidemic period, parents will have emotional ups and downs, perhaps parents do not know it, but infants and young children can be keen enough to perceive the tension or anxiety of the family, resulting in emotional problems.
For children who have already attended school, the pace of life has been disrupted due to the epidemic. Factors such as wearing masks, checking nucleic acids, not being able to go to school and playing with friends will cause children to be uncomfortable and cause many problems, such as "when can I go to school" and "when can I go out to play". At the same time, due to the long holidays and online classes, parents not only need to take care of their children's daily lives, but also need to arrange learning tasks. Parents are worried that children's learning will be affected, and they are prone to conflicts and contradictions between academic counseling and children.
For children and adolescents, the time spent with their parents due to school is not long, but the time spent with their parents due to the epidemic has greatly increased. If the channels of parent-child communication are not smooth, conflicts will arise because of study, daily life, and even the length of time spent watching TV and playing games. If the two parties speak inappropriately and cannot think in a different position, it will lead to further aggravation of the contradiction and lead to a fierce quarrel between parents and children.
Parents are advised from four perspectives
Do a good job of psychological protection for children during the epidemic
Parents should maintain emotional stability
Parents should do a good job of their own emotional management. In the face of the epidemic, do not be overly anxious and nervous, and pay attention to creating a safe and harmonious family atmosphere. Parents should understand and control themselves, positively understand and rationally deal with various epidemic prevention measures taken by the government, and do not show negative emotions in front of their children.
During the epidemic period, neighbors should take care of each other and help each other.
You can tell positive stories with your children, set an example for your children to learn, and cultivate your child's sense of social responsibility and morality.
Explain the epidemic positively and vividly
Parents need to choose the appropriate way to inform the virus and the epidemic simply and clearly according to their child's age and acceptance. For infants and young children, parents can explain the virus and the epidemic in an interesting way, such as comparing the virus to "the villain who attacks humans" and the vaccine to the "guard".
Parents can also use some picture books published online to learn the relevant knowledge of preventing viruses and diseases with their children, use interesting cartoons to explain how the human body "fights" with viruses, let them understand the relationship between viruses and humans, health hazards, etc., and cultivate their curiosity and interest in science.
Parents should teach their children how to learn to protect themselves through words and deeds, so that they can simply and clearly understand the epidemic situation correctly, and alleviate their panic, anxiety and other emotions.
Arrange your child's life reasonably
Work with your children to develop a family schedule to relax the mood of the whole family through a regular life. The schedule includes: time for children to learn, time for adequate sleep, time for recreation and home exercise. Don't be too detailed and give children free and autonomous time.
Provide children with as many family entertainment activities as possible. Parents can take the initiative to invite their children to play games together, participate in housework, and take care of the family together, so as to cultivate their children's sense of labor and hands-on ability. You can also make a daily wish list with your child, such as some parent-child games: doing crafts, drawing, cooking, raising plants, etc. Prioritize according to the child's preferences, realize item by item, and enjoy the current life with the child to make life more exciting.
Parents should guide their children to use electronic products reasonably. When children use electronic products, they should not be forcibly deprived, nor should they be allowed to let go, focusing on "moderation".
More companionship, more communication
Usually, many parents lack interaction with their children because of their busy work, and parents should have an equal dialogue with their children. Respect the needs of children to be independent and alone, give children a certain amount of space, less discipline, more consultation and encouragement. Listen to the child's nagging more, do not rush to comment on and correct the child's ideas, even if the child has some inappropriate or incorrect ideas, you can also slowly guide after that, do not stand against the child.
Pay attention to the child's emotional problems, for children with mild behavioral problems, do not ignore or overly care, help them release excess energy, and learn to control emotions. Do not let the epidemic topic appear excessively in life, pay more attention to some other happy topics, but respond to children's doubts in a timely manner, including epidemics, diseases and other issues, and make appropriate answers according to the age and understanding ability of children.
Source: According to the comprehensive collation of health Nanjing, Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital, etc