Victoria Drive CAMHs

Helpful resources during COVID-19

Resources for Children

Promoting your child’s well-being during the pandemic and beyond   

Introduction

It’s been said that we are living in unprecedented times! Your child’s return to school must be seen within this context.

All children are unique and some may carry more worries than others about the prospect of returning and attending school during the pandemic.

Your child may at times have many different feelings and emotions about school and about life in general such as: excitement, fear and worry, etc. The key question for you to address is how you can best support your child both now and in the future.

Essential!!

It’s really important to create an environment where you can talk about feelings with your child. You should also observe for possible signs your child needs extra help.  These signs are:

• Panic type symptoms such as physical symptoms like nausea, feeling tense or shaky, headaches, dizziness, stomach ache, poor sleep.
• Behaviours including avoiding doing things school related, going out or talking about school, refusing to go to school, checking for information online about Coronavirus or school excessively, seeking a  lot of reassurance or asking a lot of questions, not finding pleasure in things they would usually enjoy.

How can you support??

Tips to promote your child’s well-being

1. Make children feel safe- adopt a calm reassuring tone and offer praise.
2. Give them facts about COVID and on other issues that worry them. Let them lead the discussion- answer only what they ask.
3. Talk about feelings and worries- acknowledge concerns, give space for them to share/ be solution focused.
4. Let them know what to expect with the virus.
5. Give them power/responsibility- children can help to keep themselves and others be safe/ reinforce adults will take care of them.
6. Keep in touch with family, friends and balance screen time.
7. Support ways for children to connect with their friends and community.

8. Establish and stick to a routine ( e. bedtimes, exercise and nutrition) – including creative ways of having fun!!!
9. Close conversations with care- ensure positivity and hopefulness.

1.  Self-care- promote your own and your child’s well-being.

Help your child become more resilient by encouraging him/ her to be brave.

“Courage isn’t about something magical that happens inside us to make us ‘not scared’. It’s about something magical that happens inside us to make us push through fear, self-doubt, anxiety, and do the things that feel hard or risky or frightening. Sometimes, courage only has to happen for seconds at a time – just long enough to be brave enough. ” https://www.heysigmund.com/building-courage-in-kids/

In order support your child’s learning and growth, create opportunities for him/her to carry out small acts of bravery, build hope, encourage your child to look forward, reflect upon their experiences and try something new.