By Lisa Eubank
Lifetime Counseling Center

With back-to-school just around the corner, there’s a lot of discussion around how and where our children will return to the classroom. Will it be back at the school? Or are you doing online school at home? Or a combination of both?

If you have school-age children at home, you’ve already experienced the unexpected and sudden turbulence of what it meant to be a parent while you run the household and become your child’s teacher, possibly while you are still a full-time employee trying to work from home. Or maybe you are an essential employee and have to navigate all of this while still going to an outside job. All of this can be very stressful!

So what I’d like to do is just give you a few tips on how to cope and manage things right now by being home.

Get together with your children and come up with a daily schedule. Post the schedule somewhere where the kids can see it and have them work with you to put the schedule together so they are part of the plan. This will definitely alleviate a lot of the stress that’s going on in your home.

Try not to talk too much about COVID-19 news and limit the TV news they see. Remember, if you’re stressed, then they’re going to be stressed. You may think they’re not paying attention, but they are taking in a lot of the information from the TV or your conversations. So try to limit all of the COVID-19 news right now, especially around the kids.

Remember that with children, behaviors are usually just symptoms. So if your kids are acting out and they’re melting down more than usual, they’re picking up on the stress in the home or they have a different need you’re not picking up on. Try to think of the big picture and ask yourself, “What does my child need right now? Are they hungry? Are they tired? Do you need to take a walk?” When you’re feeling like you’re losing your mind and you just want to throw in the towel, it’s really time to step back and take a break. This is really, really important, not just for you, but also for the kids.

You can go outside, take a walk, eat a Popsicle together. And what I can’t stress enough is to make sure you guys are taking time for hugs. Humans need at least eight hugs a day to be healthy, especially emotionally healthy. So make time for those snuggles and those hugs that will help repair and keep you guys healthy to get through this pandemic.

Also, reach out to friends. True, we can’t go visit friends or family right now, but what about FaceTime chat? Or a Zoom or Skype call? We’re all going through this at the same time and it’s important to stay connected in any way you can.

If you feel really anxious and dread each day, remember you can reach out to us at Lifetime Counseling Center. We’re offering telehealth therapy right now, online to people of all ages. We’ve actually found the children really enjoy this type of therapy and connection. We are here to support our community.

We can help! Please call us at 321-632-5792. We can meet with you in person or virtually.