Helping youngsters return to school and find their way in the new ‘normal’ is not easy, and a concern for many parents. Leading Essex-based author and psychotherapist, Mark Newey, believes supporting your children with their levels of self-esteem, friendships and giving much-needed unconditional love, are just some of the skills required to help them through an uncertain future.
Connections with others
Youngsters have been severely effected by the pandemic, many not seeing friends for months. Some have turned to Zoom, but it’s really not the same and children are missing out on their close relationships with friends. Going back to school will be ideal for youngsters to get back to a sense of normality and to have time with their friends.
Don’t pressurise youngsters
Once your children are safely through the school gates the knee-jerk reaction is to start telling them to ‘buckle down and work their hardest, they’ve missed out on a lot!’, but ‘helicopter’ style parenting would be disastrous right now. It’s never easy to make changes, so don’t expect your children to adapt quickly. Help them through the process and once they’re settled, let them have the time to develop.
Self-Esteem
Many youngsters suffer from low levels of self-esteem. One of the major building blocks in life to be able to cope with adversity is to have self-esteem. Having self-esteem is simply being comfortable in your own skin, that shouldn’t be hard, but due to the pressures of modern life can be tricky. Consider how as a family you can boost your children’s self-esteem and become more resilient to the tricky path ahead.
Future Planning
For older children planning for the future can be difficult, especially due to the upset over exam results. Many adults are stressing because they’re finding it hard to adjust to an uncertain future, children were already in this boat and their future has become even more unsure. Help them through this process and why not discuss as a family what really is important in life. Many people have discovered that a slower simpler life during lockdown has made them happier, show children that a life chasing materialistic items is not necessarily a happy one.
Unconditional Love
We’ve all needed a hug once in awhile to get through the pandemic, your children will require additional support to help them through these challenging times. Simply offer unconditional love. Unconditional love doesn’t mean, spoiling your children or giving them unlimited time on the Xbox or Netflix, but it does mean always being there for them and giving great advice.
To discover more about how to look after your mental wellbeing visit www.headucate.me. The site also offers free online advice to help people with their mental wellbeing, including a session on relationships, to sign-up, simply visit www.headucate.me/cv19-free-self-help-resources.
