Summer has brought two subjects too big to ignore: Racism and Back-to-School in a pandemic. Here at ZUMC’s family blog, we wanted to provide you with resources on how to address both in your families.
We are fortunate to have Dr. Dan O’Donnell as a contributor, and this month he shares information with us in A Doctor’s View on Back-to-School. Psychologist Sandra Burkhardt addresses the mental aspects of making a decision about school plus several resources for families who are making school decisions in Resources from a Psychologist.
As always, we are grateful to our contributors for sharing their insight and wisdom with our ZUMC families. We pray these posts help you prepare for the days and decisions ahead.
Wow, things have certainly changed since we started creating this parenting blog! Our big launch was to be March 15, but we’re now saving that first post until April. We decided it’s important that we work together to help each other navigate the next few weeks, so we’re focusing on what we can do to help families now and in the immediate future.
So, grab a cup of coffee or tea, read our first post, and soak in these tips from some local parenting pros. You’ll have a chance to officially meet them in an upcoming post, but for now we hope you’ll find some tips you can use.
Please know we are here to help you. Our hope is that you’ll reach out to us with any questions, concerns, or ways we can help you and your family at this time. After all, we’re in this together!
With kids who are used to being in school it might be good to have a set schedule so they know how the day looks.
Let them work wherever they want to. Sitting on the floor, laying on their stomachs etc. If a kid’s feet can NOT touch the floor while sitting it’s super hard to sit for long.
Wake up before they do and have coffee and you time 😉
Have them help with meal prep, snack prep, and household chores.
Read out louds or audio books, puzzles, let them be bored (they will start using imagination and free play! Even only children).
Be outside at least an hour a day!! Walks, non playground parks, back yard…. older ones who don’t want to “play” can at least read or draw outside.
Jenny Ellegood, PA-C, MPAS, homeschooling mom:
Easy Outdoor Activities with Kids:
Bust out the sidewalk chalk!
Go on an outdoor scavenger hunt.
Take lunch or snack time outside.
Let them get messy.
Provide supplies for a fort.
Work on those botany skills!
Create an obstacle course.
Splash in the creek.
For more details on Jenny’s tips click here: Jenny’s Tips
Suggestions from a Physician:
Ike Means, MD, Pediatric Physician
Obviously, there is a wealth of good and bad information about COVID-10 pandemic out there, so please consider these resources first:
Take it seriously – despite the inconveniences of all the cancellations, social isolation, etc., this is the only way we can mitigate the potential tremendous impact of this virus now that it is here.
But reassure your children – thank goodness COVID-19 illness severity in children has been mild so far. Alleviate their anxieties that can be generated by outside sources.
Take this opportunity to review hygiene with your children – handwashing, sneezing into tissue or elbows, etc.
Keep that relationship with your pediatric office – they should be your resource for dealing with your children’s symptoms and illnesses in a daily changing situation.
Stay as healthy as you can otherwise – good sleep, nutrition, and routine vaccinations including for Influenza, will help protect you in times of illness.
How to Talk to Your Child about What is Happening:
Resources from Tracy Vermillion, ZUMC Childrens Ministries Director, and Sandra Burkhardt, Psychologist
Crisis Conversation Guides from Parent Cue
Our world is filled with tragic events, and sometimes that tragedy hits close to home. Use these guides to have a conversation with your child or teen and help them navigate tough situations.
If you’re struggling with how to manage your family’s increasing anxiety about the current public health crisis, you’re not alone.
As information about Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to unfold, many families are experiencing a wide range of thoughts, feelings, and reactions. Parent Cue offers tips to help your children navigate these big feelings.
Social Media can make us more isolated, but now is the time to utilize it! If you’re able to get out and it doesn’t pose a danger to yourself or others, post on your neighborhood Facebook page or app, asking if any parents of young children need anything from the store and offering to purchase items and leave them on their porch. I will forever be grateful to neighbors who brought us Sprite, Gatorade and crackers when my kids were little and sick and I couldn’t get out of the house (back in the days prior to grocery delivery).
Check in with your parents. Many of us are in the sandwich generation, but with this virus being hard on anyone over 60, that hits even my parents, who are “young grandparents.”
Check in with other older friends. Our parents aren’t close enough that we can offer much more than communication, so I reached out to a few others in our community who don’t have family nearby. No one needed anything, but it opened the lines of communication, and I hope they will reach out if they do need anything. And I now know that one sweet friend has frozen pizzas and new puzzles, so if my kids drive me crazy I may try to move in with her. 😉 Just kidding. Kinda.
Facetime! My teens are already missing their friends, and I can only imagine how much my college kids will miss their social lives when they’re stuck at home for weeks. I plan on suggesting FaceTime and Skype when they get mopey. We may utilize these to chat with grandparents and cousins also. It will be fun to see how their grandparents who live on a farm and in a small town and their East Coast cousin ride this out and then compare it to our suburban experience.
Walk the dog. Or just walk. We plan on walking our dog probably more than she would like and having shouted conversations with neighbors from the ends of their driveways. We already did so Friday, and my teens were so happy to see someone other than me, they didn’t even die of embarrassment when we yelled things back and forth with neighbors!
Don’t forget to talk to stay in touch with God. This prayer has been circulating on social media outlets and contains powerful reminders for all of us. Thanks, Sandra, for sharing this with us!
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