Tips for Quarantine w/Kids from Thornwell Specialist
In the midst of this pandemic, we continue to try to find the balance of protecting ourselves and our family and staying sane while trying to live our “normal” life.
If you’re anything like me, you have turned off the television to avoid hearing about the rising COVID-19 cases and related deaths. In some ways, it’s too much to process. Yet in other ways, I also feel like I’ve become somewhat desensitized to it all.
So how do we navigate this time, which has already extended longer than most of us anticipated? My initial “professional” thoughts: Tell families about how important it is to have a well-established daily routine! Discuss the importance of connecting with children through child-led play! Mention how vital it is to praise children throughout the day!
But honestly? If today all you’ve been able to do is keep the kids alive—that’s okay! These are difficult times and none of us have done this before! Extend grace—not only to your children and your spouse, but to yourself as well! Take a few slow, deep breaths; stop telling yourself what you “should” or “should not” be doing. Truly, the last thing we need during this time is to criticize ourselves, which we implicitly do when we start a sentence with “I should ____.” We are all doing the best we can with what we have been given! And some days, just keeping the kids alive is enough (and might even be worthy of celebration)! And in case it’s hard to speak kindly to yourself, let me be the one to tell you: You’re doing a wonderful job!
If, over the past few months, you feel like you have barely kept your head above water and feel you could use some additional help, please contact your Thornwell Family Specialist (that’s me!) to discuss if our services would be a good fit for your family. Through the Teaching Family model—an evidence-based model utilized in family settings—Thornwell works to increase effective family skills and decrease parental stress.
But he said to me “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
-2 Corinthians 12:9
