Parenting in lockdown

As the world is going through major transitions our relationship dynamics are undergoing changes as well. We are experiencing some major changes in our everyday lives. For parents there is a shift in their lives as they shift their work to their homes and for children as they undergo schooling from home.

Well if you thought staying at home every day might create a stable environment for children to grow up, you are probably mistaken. Lockdown is a time of upheaval for all of us especially children. The lockdown has defined the parent child relationship in new ways. First few days might have been spent in bonding better and spending the much-needed family time with each other and developing a new routine but when the work from home pressure piled up relationship dynamics underwent new changes. From attending the webinars and meetings, helping the children to study to managing daily chores parents and children are trying to find the right balance. 

Children need to be kept engaged not only visually but creatively as well. Not only parents are coming up with new ideas to engage their kids but they are also actively participating in finding and engaging in new hobbies. Besides that, parents are also engaging children in daily chores which gives them a sense of responsibility. The relationship between parents and children is an important predictor for their social, physical, emotional and mental growth. How attached you are to your child indicates how the child is going to be in future.

Here are a few outcomes of positive parent child relationship:
  • Secure and healthy attachments with parents lead to happy and healthy relationship development in future
  • Children have better emotional regulation and problem solving in stressful situation
  • Children show positive social behaviour
  • A secure attachment helps in developing a healthy emotional and cognitive development. 
 What can help improve parent-child relationship in lockdown?
  • Express your love: As a parent you no doubt love your child but it is important that you express your love every day be it verbally or through physical touch, this helps the child to feel secure and boosts the child’s self-esteem. Even on difficult days let your child know that she/he is loved no matter what.
  • Develop a routine: It is important to establish a routine in our daily lives and adjusting with the new ‘normal’. You can make a daily time table for your child, plan out activities and school works that needs to be done. This will help you manage your day better and instil discipline and sense of purpose in children.
  • Encourage new hobbies and learning at home: Explore digital learning resources, engage children through visuals and animation. Explore their area of interest and share your hobbies with them, it could be as simple as reading book or art activities. Sharing your interest will help in strengthening your bond more.
  • Play with them: Play is an important aspect to child’s development. Young children develop many essential skills like language, creativity and emotional and social skill skills through play.
  • Listen, communicate and empathize: These skills play an essential role in strengthening parent child relationship. Listen to what your child has to say. Communication with your child has to be clear, assertive and friendly. Establish clear ground rules and understand their expectations. Encourage them to communicate their feelings with you. Try and see things from their perspective to foster mutual respect and help them feel they are understood.
  • Open discussion about studies: Unlike school children can learn at their own pace at home, this helps them understand each subject and concept better. Let them discuss their struggles or fear related to specific subject openly. When they identify specific problems areas, both parent and child can brainstorm ideas, develop the necessary problem-solving skills.
  • Spend one on one time with children: Try and make a point to spend individual time with your child, quality and individual time can foster bonding and build self-esteem of children. Let them know they are valued.
On one hand as a parent it is important to spend time with your children and fulfil their need but on other hand it is also important that you look after yourselves. This lockdown has given us the much-needed opportunity to spend time not only with family but also to focus on ourselves. As a parent here are a few things you can try to work on your self-care:
  • Meditate: Even a quick 10-minute meditation can help you feel rejuvenated
  • Cook or order your favourite meal
  • Listen to music
  • Spend some me-time
  • Take a hot bath, engage in self-grooming
  • Write a journal to reflect on your emotions
  • Talk to your friends/loved ones
  • Breakdown your daily chores into smaller tasks
  • Appreciate yourself
 Read more about self-care here: https://www.thecyanproject.org/2020/05/10-everyday-self-care-hacks_18.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

8 Steps For Effective Problem Solving

Image
“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” -Abraham Maslow We encounter problems everyday and everybody can benefit from having a good plan to overcome them.   Some of these problems are obviously more severe or complex than others. Problem solving is the act of defining a problem; determining the cause of the problem; identifying, prioritizing, and selecting alternatives for a solution; and implementing a solution. Planning and structuring well makes process of problem solving more successful.  Here is a step by step breakdown of how you can easily solve a problem: 1. Identify the problem    "A problem well stated is a problem half solved." -John Dewey Define the problem i.e. what exactly is that you want to solve What are the causes What are the possible maintaining factor Is it situation specific? 2. Break it down into smaller steps and decide which part do you want to work on first Break down ...
Read more

Understanding Communication Styles

Image
What is your style? The ways we present ourselves says a lot about us. The way we dress, the way we speak, the way we behave with others affect our relationships not only with others but also with ourselves. We have patterns and habits of how we communicate with others. We adopt unique communication styles which reflect on our mood, personality as well the type of conversation we have with people. Each person has a unique communication style. These communication styles come under four broad categories: Passive, Aggressive, Passive-Aggressive, and Assertive. Understanding different communication styles can improve the quality of our relationships with others. Let’s understand 4 types of communication styles. Passive Have you noticed some people who constantly say, “It really doesn’t matter” or “I don’t like confrontation” or “I want to keep the peace?” These are some of the things people with passive communication style say. In the passive communication style, people usually don’t expre...
Read more

The Subtle Art of Persuasion

Image
In the recent past, how many times someone has tried to change your point of view or attitude towards something? If you sit down and think about it, you will realize that every day we are bombarded with such attempts. Let’s understand what persuasion is. Persuasion is an attempt to change people’s attitudes through various kinds of messages and information. Persuasion is a very powerful skill which plays an important role in our daily life.  What influences persuasion? Let’s look at some of the factors that impact persuasion. Factors that Impact Persuasion The credibility of the communicator Would you listen to someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about? Do you take advice from your peers when you are sick? Credibility is an important factor that influences persuasion. People usually listen to and follow those people who seem to know what they are talking about or people who are experts or are trained in the field. For example, you will follow the advice of a doctor inste...
Read more