The Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) released tips for parents to help their children adapt to the COVID crisis better. 

The shared tips focus on child psychology and behavioral adaptability to enable children to approach the ongoing crisis with positivity. 

The ECA advisory says as children are adjusting to the new way of life, they will have many questions about what, when, and how. Parents are advised, therefore, to support the child emotionally by answering their questions. This attitude from parents will also help in the child’s social development. 

On social distancing, the experts at the ECA say that parents must tell their wards that distancing should be viewed as a privilege. Because of this now families can spend time together. 

Children enjoy the company of their parents, where their need to be loved, cared, and encouraged is fulfilled. Spending additional hours with children, listening to their activities about the school, sports, and more, allows them to develop an emotional bond and enable children to work on behavioural adaptability. 

Children’s coping mechanisms, under these stressful times, are dependent on how parents bond with them emotionally and socially.  

With the new reality of COVID, parents as the primary caregiver must step in to normalize the latest changes. 

A child can be calmer and will adapt to wearing masks, social distancing, and other norms smoothly when parents assure of protection. 

 The ECA advises that parents must not sound ambiguous when a child asks them about the corona crisis. Parents must patiently explain what the virus is and why they need to take safety and hygienic measures in this critical time. 

The explanation builds a bond of trust between the parent and child. If a child is anxious about the current situation, parents must not make him/ her bad. 

Parents must not overlook or dismiss a child’s concern about social distancing. Offer your kid, according to the ECA, that this phase will be over eventually, and the child must stay indoors to ensure his safety. 

 The Authority advises the parents to use “positive reinforcement” and “encouragement” to help kids adapt to new norms like wearing masks. Children will not learn in one day; they too will go through “trial and error.” 

The kids will make mistakes, but the parent must teach them how to learn from their mistakes. 

Under the current circumstances, when both parents and children must stay indoors, parents must use this available time to resolve differences. With such gestures from parents, the child will learn about communication and appropriate social skills. 

As children are now confined to the home, parents must help their child to develop a hobby. The child’s self-confidence will get a boost when he learns that his parents appreciate his interests.