Communication with Children in the Covid-19 Process

Covid-19, which has taken the whole world under its influence, has negatively affected our lives in many ways. We are facing a difficult and uncertain process in which we try to isolate ourselves and our family in our homes by taking measures with restrictions, both socially and spiritually. While we are trying to manage this process with our minds and wills, we have little witnesses who try to make sense of what is going on with our attitudes and the atmosphere at home: Our children…

So what is our duty? What should we do? How should we explain this situation to them? This is undoubtedly the issue that many parents struggle with the most these days.

Dear parents… The feeling of fear and panic feeds mostly on uncertainty and chaos. And the days we live in are unfortunately very suitable for this situation. Just like the instruction “Put the oxygen mask on yourself first and then on your child!” in the airplane announcements, we first take our own stress management; We should try to continue our lives by ensuring that our routine, domestic physical symptoms, and variable stimuli remain the same as possible. Because especially children under the age of 7 are affected by the environment and they often make sense of events according to these symptoms. First of all, we need to summarize the situation we are in in a way that is appropriate for their age and in short sentences as possible. They will continue to ask persistently, this is their effort to “normalize the situation”. We must continue to answer patiently. Because they will try to find answers to the question “There is something wrong, yes, but what?” from everywhere. On the other hand, there is a state of limitation, which is most annoying for them. Not being able to run to the fullest, not being able to play in the streets in the parks… When I was trying to get the situation under control; “If we go out, the virus will catch us! it kills us! If you don’t eat your food, the virus will make you sick!” We should definitely avoid making it scary with statements like. Instead, we can get his attention to the happy ending with motivating sentences such as “our home is the safest place to be protected right now, and if we are patient a little longer, we can go to the park together again, we can go out on the street”.

One of the most common situations in this process is the desire to sleep together. In these days when we experience extraordinary situations, in the same room in accordance with their age; or letting them sleep in the same bed as us will give them confidence. Because as anxiety increases, the need for trust will increase with the hormone cortisol secreted, and when you meet that need for trust, trust will bring happiness for them. On the other hand, another important aspect that should not be overlooked is television. Undoubtedly, we all try to follow the agenda through many communication channels in order to follow the process and be aware of the progress. However, it is beneficial that this vehicle is not television, which is a communication channel that all households can reach. We should prevent them from trying to make sense of what is going on with what they watched, and prevent the situation from getting more complicated.

Finally, to summarize, our children are our mirror, dear mothers and fathers; We can keep our home order and our lives in the same routine as possible and avoid conversations about coronavirus next to them. Because keeping the routine will help us to control the anxiety management and keep up with the current life more easily.

Let’s not forget that as long as we manage the shadow of the pandemic that falls on our house in a healthy way, it will be easier for us to control the emotional state of our children. With love…