The New York Times – Virginia Sole-Smith
As we slog through another week of self-isolation, quarantine or even total lockdown, parents stuck at home with young children are grappling with how to keep everyone well-fed … meal after meal, snack after snack, day after day. I’ve rounded up some common questions and sought answers from two dietitians, a pediatrician and an anti-hunger advocate.
Read MoreUSA Today – Amy OlRick
It’s an odd time. It’s such an odd time. That’s the refrain I keep hearing from friends, colleagues and family members, in whispered conversations we don’t want our now-stay-at-home kids to overhear. Parents around the world are adjusting to the unsettling new reality of school closures, work-from-home directives and even shelter-in-place orders. We’re juggling work and figuring out how to home-school, all while worrying about vulnerable neighbors, at-risk loved ones, our financial futures and the toll this will have on our children, academically and beyond. Stress levels are high.
Read MoreAtlantic – Ashley Fretters
Parents can do a number of activities alongside their kids that facilitate active, engaged learning. For preschool-age kids and younger children, Allyssa McCabe, a psychology professor at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell who specializes in children’s language development, advises parents to find time throughout the day to read books with their kids. “Reading interactively with (not just at) children is very beneficial for language and literacy instruction,” she wrote to me in an email. “Parents should encourage their children to talk about pictures, predict what will happen next in a story, and what characters feel.” She also recommends taking walks outside (to whatever extent possible) and talking about whatever catches children’s attention, as an exercise in language skills. “Name the object and repeat this several times. Describe the object. Ask the child what [he or she] thinks about the object. You are looking at a butterfly! That is a beautiful butterfly, isn’t it? Do you like the butterfly? That butterfly is yellow. And look, over there, there’s another one—do you know what to call it?”
Read MoreThe Register-Guard – Staff Writer
Many of us are parenting through uncharted territory right now. We have been told to keep our children out of school for 1½ months, to stay home, away from playgrounds, other children, extended family members and the public spaces we love to frequent during the rainy season. And while we try to stay hopeful and positive, there’s no question we are scared. Scared for our family’s health, for our children, our jobs and all the unknowns. And, our children can sense our fears. They feel the anxiety in the grocery stores, hear it in our conversations and see it on our faces.
Read MoreThe Huffington Post – Caroline Bologna
Kids don’t always verbalize their struggles, but anxiety, depression and other mental health issues can manifest in different ways. HuffPost spoke to Gurwitch, von Lob and other experts to learn about some of these indicators. Read on to learn about signs that may offer parents a window into children’s mental health in this unprecedented situation. It’s understandable that kids may not be their usual selves for a short period of time, but if these behavioral or emotional changes increase in severity, persist for many weeks or interfere with your child’s everyday functions, you may want to seek professional advice.
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