In an ideal world, we wouldn't be cooped up indoors 24 hours a day, with only our children and parents for the company. But we are a long way from an ideal world. And if you thought that the lockdown is hard on you, it's doubly so for your children.
What is the best way for the parents to respond to misbehavior by their children? The following tips may help you to find a way forward:
Understand your Kids:
Every act is like exploring the world anew for children. So being made to stay indoors can be hard. Young kids also don't know how t cope up with unease or unhappiness, so they may communicate these emotions by becoming more difficult. That's why expect more acting out, more meltdowns and more tantrums-not because they badly behave, but because they feel destabilized.
Respond with Empathy:
Remind your children of the rules and your expectations. But ensure you don't lose your temper int he process. Remember how you deal with the children when they are sick? You are more patient, compassionate, and tolerant. Be all those things now, because their outbursts are just another form of illness, one brought about by staying indoors for over two months.
Have fun when you can:
Fun and games may help your children get out some of their anxious energy in positive ways. Even if you are tired at the end of hard days of work, squeeze in two minutes of fun with your kids if you can. Put some music and dance, makeup, and sing various songs to spend time, help relieve their stress, and you may discover that it helps yours too.
You can play various exciting games that will not only engage you and your kids for some time, and your kids will also love the games. The games will also make your kids think in a different way, which will also enhance the creativity of your kids and help them believe differently. List of some exciting games which are readily available online in the form of PDFs are listed below:
1)Spot the Difference:
Most of the people reading this content may know this game, but who are unaware may understand that in this particular game, there are two pictures in which there are some minor differences that have to be spotted. This game engages your children and increases their focusing ability as they keenly observe the two pictures and analyze them to spot the difference.
2)Find the Way:
In this game, there is a picture where there are multiple ways, one entry point and I exit point. You have to find an appropriate way to the exit point, starting from the entry point. This game will help your kids think differently every time they find another way, which may give birth to innovations in them.
Go easy on Yourself:
Children may absorb the emotions that their parents feel. So let's go of things that are causing you the extra stress. Forgive yourself if you find it. Impossible to do everything right now. We're all stretched and rattled, and being kind of ourselves is essential.
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