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Coronavirus and our children
Coronavirus and our Children
The world we are living in currently is an unusual place. This blog is about C-19 and our Children. Many of us are staying at home, some of us are trying to balance work, childcare, school work and house work. We are trying to readjust our finances for an unknown amount of time. Most of us are living through something we never thought we would experience, It’s a strange time.
Our children have always looked at us as role models and for reassurance. Without us doing anything different personally they will be picking up on the changes that are happening. I want to share with you the world of Maddie.
The world of Maddie
Maddie is my eldest daughter, she is 5 years old. If you know us personally or have followed the little cherry tree company for a while now, you will have heard me talk about how sensitive she is. I was just the same as a child. She can be so confident in things you don’t expect but also be shy on the things you don’t expect her to be too.
We are three weeks into isolation so apart from the odd bike ride she has been home. Her and her sister have truly been amazing, they play in the garden most days using their imagination to come up with all sorts of wonderful things. The laughter and giggles from them both are infectious.
Ruby is blissfully unaware of what is going on apart from she has never washed her hands so much in her little 3 year life!! Maddie at 5 is different, she knows about the virus. She knows its name and she knows people are dying. I haven’t told her that. She has picked that up from people on the tv, her zoom chats with friends and the discussions at school before it closed. It breaks my heart that at 5 she is aware of these things. I don’t want to wrap her up in cotton wool but I also don’t want her to worry. I ask her if she is worrying about anything and she always says no.
Knowing our children
As her mummy, I know different. Maddie has started getting her tummy aches again. She gets these when she is nervous. Another thing is she has never been a great eater but this has got a little worse and she is even more sensitive to things, the slightest thing sets her off into full on crying. My little girl is taking the weight of the world on her shoulders.
We will support her through this, we will help build resilience, make memories that are positive and take away that stress that she is feeling.
We all need to be watching our children, if their behaviour has changed then it might be a sign of stress, they are feeling emotions they are not used too.
Things to look for
- Complaining of tummy ache
- Melt downs and tantrums
- Going off their food
- Bedwetting
- Waking in the night more often
- Nightmares
- Quiet and not interacting with others.
These are just a few of the things your child might be doing that might indicate they are stressed. Even if they are spending hours in the garden laughing, it doesn’t mean the stress isn’t there.
Be kind to yourselves, keep things fluid without strict routines, provide lots of praise, acknowledge feelings but give reassurance and most of all Stay safe!!
Checkout our Facebook page where we have shared ideas about surviving in isolation