Article Summary
“Parenting in a Pandemic: Tips to Keep the Calm at Home” by the American Academy of Pediatrics provides a set of simple recommendations for parents regarding managing children’s behaviors during the pandemic. The source problematizes the pandemic’s implications for children’s subjective well-being and emotional stability. Families are recommended to engage in fear-reducing practices, including answering kids’ COVID-19-related questions, explaining basic self-care measures to avoid the virus, and supporting children in using video calls to reduce perceived isolation. The article suggests teaching emotion management by example, avoiding leaving the house without providing children with information, expressing love, and keeping the child’s activities structured. Behavioral management, including positive reinforcement, ignoring minor misbehaviors, or redirecting children’s energy into productive tasks, is also emphasized. Finally, the source warns families against resorting to even the slightest forms of corporal punishment or ignoring conditions that might require pediatricians’ involvement.
Thoughts/Discussion
From my perspective, the source offers an extensive set of measures to maximize emotional well-being in times of uncertainty. The tips’ simplicity appeals to a wide audience, which aligns with the source’s communicative goal. Concerning other ideas that could support families in keeping calm, I would suggest identifying the child’s stress-maximizing triggers, for example, mortality statistics in the news, and restricting his/her access to such information. Another idea refers to instrumentalizing mind-body relaxation activities, for instance, practicing family yoga with the help of video lessons. When moving forward, parents should take a series of steps to stabilize their own psychological condition and then structure parent-child communication to make children feel secure. The steps to achieve it may include researching self-care and vaccination information from credible agencies, working with one’s fears, and contacting behavioral health professionals or relevant faith-based organizations to seek support. Next, parents should carefully analyze their child’s psychological condition, identify and eliminate the sources of excessive stress, and plan the child’s self-care and educational routines. Finally, initiating therapeutic conversations and incorporating family activities into the child’s schedule should be pursued.