COVID-19 has changed every aspect of how we live, work, and relate to one another. It has created a stressor that we had never imagined and will influence the trajectories of our future. As adults, many of us have been scrambling to adjust, work from home, parent children who are always, and I mean always around, all while trying not to catch the virus. In such novel circumstances, it may be easy to overlook just how grave the impact of this is on our children. They were ripped away from their peers, their playdates, their entire social world, without notice or preparation. The pandemic has taken away their sense of structure, routine, and physical activity. Over time, these losses may exacerbate issues surrounding their mental health and wellness, unless the means are taken to properly equip them with the awareness and tools to successfully manage their emotions. Doing so would be a strong step in the path to developing resilience.
The challenges we face today can be utilized to develop resilience and emotional intelligence. To build resilience, we need to be aware of and learn to regulate our emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and relationships. This ability is at the core of facing challenges with curiosity and strength rather than panic and overwhelm.
As adults, we are tasked not only with caring for our own mental health, but facilitating the means to help our children develop healthy ways of recognizing and managing their emotions as well. Child and youth mental health has long been undervalued. We now have to stand up to ensure that we recognize the support that our children need and provide the opportunities for them to receive it. Doing so will allow our children to shift from survival to resilience and emerge from the current crisis with an increased capacity to bounce back from difficulty.
Haven MHC will be running 2 groups for children ages 8-11 to develop these skills. For more information, check out our youth groups page.