How to Cope with Stress: Learn How Pandemic Impacts Kids and Parents in Different Ways

By Tiffany Harper

There is no secret that the Coronavirus pandemic affected us all. While parents have lost their jobs or need to work from home, children have a hard time adapting to the new life format. Classes are held online; they no longer interact with their school friends or take part in group activities. Stress is a natural reaction to these hard and new times. In fact, stress appears when there are big changes in one’s life, like this one. It has effects not only on your mind or wellbeing but on your body and habits too.

Stress caused by a world pandemic will likely be felt by anyone, by parents and children alike. But the most important thing is your perspective on stress.

There are many ways you can cope with stress, but as a parent, it is important to help your children do the same.

Stress Effects

The effects of stress are quite visible, although not anyone is aware of them. Kids will have a harder time identifying them, but they might have digestive problems, headaches, throw tantrums, or have difficulties falling asleep. They do not socialize as much as they did before, and meeting your friends, playing games, and talking with them is something all kids long for.

Social support is important not only for children but for their parents too. Stress might arouse emotions of anxiety, anger, frustration, and fear. You might have a hard time focusing or making decisions, and physical symptoms such as the loss of appetite, chills, or stomachaches are present.

One of the most important things about this unpleasant and stressful situation is that children learn how to cope with stress as they grow up. They learn all these mechanisms from their parents because we all know that kids are like sponges.

So, it is important how you choose to face the current context of the world. Because this will help your kids learn healthy ways of coping, and this will be very helpful not only in this moment but later in their lives too.

Limit Your Time Watching or Reading the News

Photo by Mr Cup / Fabien Barral on Unsplash

We often think that if we gather more information about this subject, we have more power over it. But the truth is, it is a virus that spreads very quickly. All we can do is try to protect ourselves as much as we can and follow strict hygiene measures.

As stated in some reports of the lab report writer, hearing and reading all day about the coronavirus pandemic will not do any good. It will only intensify the feelings of anxiety, fear, and helplessness. And it is not only about the TV or news, but about social media too.

So, limit your time spent watching or reading the news and try to replace this habit with another one more positive. Like this, you will teach your child to try and find comfort in pleasurable activities, instead of focusing on what you cannot control.

Find Activities You Enjoy

This relaxing photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash

Stress makes us often think that there is nothing pleasurable in our lives anymore. Think about your kids, too. They take their happiness and positive feelings from play with friends, games, sweets, travelling, and small things.

They are mostly deprived of interaction and socialization with friends, and even though they can do this online, face-to-face socialization is necessary for healthy cognitive development. So, it is important to find things and activities you all enjoy.

Some of them can be board games or card games to play with your kids. They will surely help you get some fun and feel good.

But you can also find other interesting activities such as watching docuseries, reading, painting, coloring or drawing. All these can be done together with your children, and so you lead by example and nurture a genuine desire to learn more about the world around us in your kids.

Also, educational games might be a great choice. Some great options could help you learn along with your child the mysteries of chemistry, physics, science, astrology, biology, and many more.

Write Your Feelings Down

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

We need to admit that this period is marked by uncertainty. We do not know much about this virus, how long it will last or when it will be eradicated. Its impacts are visible: the demand for resources has gone up, while the rate of employment has gone down.

Even though kids do not completely understand the current world state, they can feel it. And they do not have the necessary equipment to face these strange times, so parents need to provide security and comfort.

You can do this by encouraging your children to write their feelings down. This is a helpful activity not only for them but for you too. So, you can do it together.

Writing your feelings down helps you put things into context. It acts as a stress relief because it helps you get rid of negative thoughts. Also, considering the uncertainty of the situation, it can help children understand that it will eventually pass. By writing down your thoughts, you can better learn how to label your emotions, become aware of them, identify their source, and work on them.

Exercise

This joyful photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash

Kids surely miss the energy and outdoor activities they were doing at school. And this is understandable. Every type of sport leads to a release of endorphins in our brains, which makes us feel better.

Give yourself the time to exercise and keep your body healthy. Find some interesting physical games and activities you can do with your children. Exercising acts as a stress relief for parents and kids alike,
so it is a healthy stress-coping mechanism.

Conclusion

The coronavirus pandemic changed the world totally and it will never be the same. All these abrupt changes come with stress and negative feelings and emotions. Children and parents react differently to these stimuli. And while parents can be more equipped to face this stress, kids need guidance and help to understand the context we are living in now.

So, it is important to know that you lead by example and kids learn how to cope with this kind of moment from you. Limit your news intake and find interesting, funny, and educational games and activities to play with your kids. Encourage your kids to write down their thoughts to better define the context and their emotions.

Lovely featured image photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash (thank you <3)

About the author:
Tiffany Harper is a training guru who’s been working in the corporate sector as a technology expert for several years now. She is a management graduate and loves to share her experience through blogs and expert articles. For her love of writing, she provided online consultations for one of the dissertation help writers, while working with UK Best Essays. Please do not hesitate to contact her on LinkedIn.