End of lockdown! Hurrah! Mom, I am going to play outside right now! I am tired of staying indoors.
Being stuck inside was a nightmare for some children.
But is it safe to go out now Dad? Corona cases are on the rise. With more people outside, how can we practice social distancing?
Other kids have enjoyed the slower pace of life with breaks and increased family time. Some children are even anxious about the safety of going out again and so, wouldn’t mind staying home longer.
As a parent, you might have contradicting feelings about the easing of lockdown.
On the one hand, you felt stifled and suffocated seeing the same three or four faces (dear as they may be!) And a small part of you is doing a pirouette at the thought of getting some ‘me’ time after months of ‘lock-up’ (‘lockdown’, did they call it?!). On the other hand, you enjoyed those family lunches and dinners and were comfortable knowing just where everyone in the family was.
However, as difficult as the coronavirus lockdown was for us, it was much harder for children who have spent anxious and restless months stuck at home. And as parents, we want them to be free and uninhibited in the outside world like before. “Will that be possible now?” A million-dollar question as the COVID pandemic has presented us with an almost unprecedented challenge.
Even if you are one of those who have decided that you will not go out into the world till a vaccine or cure is available in the market, chances are you will come in contact with people on the outside because it is not possible to live a cocooned life forever. We all have physical and emotional needs which will make us seek more than what is available within the four walls. So, let’s address some of those pressing concerns that parents have about the safety of their children as more people leave their houses.
Take a look at some of these tips for parents to help keep children safe post lockdown as they go back to ‘normal’ life.
Tips for parents to keep children safe post-lockdown
Tip 1: Wear masks when venturing outside
It is true that when you are up against a deadly virus, you need to ensure that you build your immunity. Part of the immunity-building process is exercise. Children have been deprived of this in the months of lockdown. So, since many governments have permitted walking and running with social distancing in place, you could allow your child outside with some safety measures in place.
- Ensure he/she wears a mask when outside. Stay strong in the face of fierce protests about suffocation. This could be true in hot climates while running, so you might relax a tiny bit here but it would be wise to run at hours when fewer people are outside - early mornings or late nights. However, it should be possible to walk and cycle with the mask on. Many children argue that they are the only ones wearing masks when playing. This is unfortunately true as people tend to become lax despite knowing the dangers of this pandemic. So, if possible, it would be good to have your apartment association or committee impose it as a rule for everyone in your community to make conformance easier.
- Once back from play, ensure the children have a bath and put their clothes for a wash.
- Also, accompany your younger ones when they are outside as they are likely to forget to keep their masks on in the excitement of seeing their friends after such a long break!
Tip 2: Maintain a healthy distance from domestic help entering homes
If you are allowing your maid/cook/nanny or any other house help inside your house, make sure
- they wear a fresh mask when they enter your house.
- they wash their hands thoroughly for 20 seconds as soon as they enter - either with soap or a hand sanitizer.
- they stay away from children, particularly those less than 10 years of age. If possible, it would be good for children to avoid being in the same room as the domestic help(s).
How to deal with children during the Coronavirus lockdown
Since some places are still closed as they are in the red zone or containment zone, here are some ideas to help deal with children during the extended lockdown:
(1) Encourage children to share their feelings – especially the quiet ones.
(2) Give them your undivided time and attention.
(3) Listen to their ideas and suggestions; encourage their inventiveness and creativity.
(4) Allow them to take up some responsibilities around the house – like watering the plants, dusting, and putting the dishwasher or washing machine on.
(5) Play board games with them and share a few laughs every day.
(6) Ask them to name three things they are grateful for each day.
(7) Tuck them into bed and wish them a good night with Yoga Nidra to enable a sound and restful sleep.
Tip 3: Attend school in small batches to enable social distancing
Can I go back to school now?
You never thought you would hear this sentence accompanied by longingness in your child’s voice! But, things have come to such a pass that children now miss school and the free days they spent playing with their friends.
Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this question that has many parents and children worried around the world. Some countries like Israel, Australia, Singapore, and South Korea, who have been more successful in flattening the COVID curve, are closer to opening schools than most others.
If you are in India, children have still not been allowed to go to school though the government has started the announcement of exam dates for students in crucial higher grades.
In the unlikely event that schools start to function, (most schools have probably started the session with online classes), ensure that the school authorities:
a. do thermal checks before children enter the bus.
b. operate buses with reduced, say 50 percent, capacity - with only one child in a seat to maintain adequate distancing.
c. have school in two batches with staggered timings (morning and afternoon) to ensure smaller crowds that permit social distancing.
d. have small or no breaks to avoid mingling.
e. eliminate any form of sharing objects – toys and teaching aids such as worksheets, and so on.
f. ensure an adequate supply of water, soaps, and sanitizers in the bathrooms and entrance gates.
g. avoid gatherings such as assemblies.
h. do away with extracurricular classes for the time being – music, dance, sports, art and craft, drama, and any other optional classes.
Prepare your children to expect a different sort of classroom with the friendly punches and affectionate hugs and warm handshakes a thing of the past. Plus, they will have back to back classes with hardcore subjects without any breaks to make up for the lost time.
Tip 4: Avoid after-school extracurricular classes as long as possible
This is a tricky one and there is no universal and common solution to when classes may be resumed. The decision has to be based on the possibility of social distancing during the class.
For instance, it is easier to allow golf rather than basketball. Or vocal music classes rather than instrumental ones as there is less contact involved in both cases. You can consider the feasibility of drawing classes in small batches. However most parents would rather wait than risk the health of their children for a mere hobby.
After all, even professional sportspersons and athletes, musicians, and other professionals around the world are grappling with this problem searching for a way to get back to their daily practice schedules.
For those amateurs playing for fun, it is best to wait for instructions from authorities before resuming their old practice routines. Let your children know that even that will look very different from what they were used to.
On the bright side, they could continue fitness activities:
- Walking, jogging, running, trekking, skipping, and cycling (best to avoid sharing cycles and skipping ropes)
- Strengthening and stretching exercises
Happily, some classes like chess, singing, dance, music theory classes, and even regular fitness sessions are being held through online media. It would be safest to continue these till some level of control is achieved by the authorities over the COVID pandemic.
Best of all, for their physical and mental health, there is one exercise-cum-overall development practice that children can do right from the comfort and safety of their homes - YOGA!
Tip 5: Teach children yoga from an early age
Children are born yogis. However, they forget their natural bends and twists as they grow up. So, re-introducing them to yoga will be a gift of reuniting them with their natural selves especially now when they are restless and uneasy during the lockdown. Yoga has some amazing benefits for children:
- It calms their anxieties and fears.
- It helps channelize their energy into positive streams.
- It increases their sense of joy, security, and wellbeing.
- It makes them observant, thoughtful, and compassionate to those around them.
So whether you have a hyperactive toddler who needs a few moments of still time, an aggressive young child who needs to calm down, or a sullen and rebellious teenager who needs guidance and direction, yoga is the way to go!
Tip 6: Watch for new behavioral symptoms related to lockdown
Life post-lockdown will, most probably, not look like it used to be. As children have been patient beyond their years during the coronavirus lockdown, they will expect to be rewarded with a slice or whole of their old life.
That this is not possible immediately and may not happen for a long time to come is a bitter pill to swallow for everyone. As can be seen by the multitude of grown-ups spilling onto the streets as if it is festival time! Naturally, you can expect the younger generation to be even more baffled and incredulous at this new world that they are inheriting. This may manifest in different ways.
At this time of adjustment, it would be best for parents to watch out for new modes of expression:
- unusual silence
- louder-than-before tantrums and sudden sulkiness
- a new habit of withdrawing into their own space even within the house
- the appearance of an imaginary friend
- a new security blanket in the form of a toy or object
- new online friends and activities
Don’t be surprised to find new character traits and mannerisms. Just like you and me, they have had a trying time and have done their best to adjust. Since there is no end date for the COVID crisis, the only sure solution in your possession is loads of love and patience.
The message to give to the children would be: These are a few months in the course of your whole life of 80-100 years. When seen from that perspective, the post-lockdown world might be easier to endure. We might even appreciate the gift of a slower world filled with only those we care most about.
At this nervous time, it would help both parents and children to sit together for meditation. This will awaken a sense of oneness with the world, different though it is today, as well as some much-needed peace and composure within.
Your child could join the Utkarsha Yoga program and learn some great tools to deal with the current changes and challenges.
You can also join live meditations with Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at 12 pm and 7.30 pm IST on youtube.com/srisri
(Written with inputs from Dr. Prema Seshadri, Faculty, The Art of Living)
