Pandemic Fatigue in Children

The pandemic is something that took us all by surprise. A year has passed since the WHO declared a state of a pandemic for the coronavirus.

What has brought changes to all human beings in the world, from work from home, school from home, not going out, and having a lot of extra care that we did not have before. And although at first it may have seemed like a good idea to some of us to do everything from home, after a while, it became “endemic fatigue”. This includes not only adults, but mainly children, since they cannot enter commercial stores, go to recreational parks and much less school. In today’s post, we will try to analyze together what we can do so that this does not harm our children and parents too much.

Pandemic fatigue

This concept was defined by the WHO and refers to a series of symptoms derived from the virus and the consequences of this global health crisis. Basically it is about stress, physical and emotional tension, and the more fatigue there is, the more tiredness, exhaustion and negative or unpleasant emotions are those that we feel, not to mention that it also alters our way of thinking. Uncertainty has settled in our lives. Boredom, isolation, fear of illness and relating to others, loss of appetite or the opposite, lack of concentration, irritability, lack of motivation, etc.

How is this affecting our children?

Children count on parents as a source of physical and emotional security, as well as control in unexpected situations. Therefore, today more than ever, we have to be the best example for them, so that they continue to maintain their balanced emotional status, their healthy habits and routines within the appropriate measures.

What can parents do to improve this situation?

Improve communication with our children.
Explain the situation that is occurring, and speak calmly.
Propose fun activities at home.
We can take advantage of the time to do things that we did not do with them before because of having to be away from home at work. From games with music, painting, etc.
Talk to them about what they can do when this is all over.
Making them hope that everything will get better and that we can go out and have fun again will keep them in a happy spirit.
Support between both parents.
Hug and kiss more, not stop saying how important children are to parents.

Take advantage of the time to read stories, watch movies, play video games, play in the yard, etc., we can do all of this now that we must spend more time at home. Thus, both parents and children can enjoy and have fun at the same time.