In these days in which we have had to stay inside our homes to reduce the contagion of the coronavirus, everything we hear about is related to physical health, which of course, is the most important issue of the moment .
But just as it is important to take care of our body, so is our mind, especially when we must spend so much time without going outside. Therefore, we share seven keys to better cope with confinement as a family, because mental and emotional health is also important .
Look for the bright side
A few days ago I shared in the parenting tips during the quarantine that we focus on the positive side. But this advice not only applies to adults, we must also teach our children to look for the friendly side within the outer chaos and confinement .
Therefore, let’s choose to look for the positive side of this situation and see this as that well-deserved and needed family time to do all those things that we have postponed due to the rush of daily life: movie afternoons, family cooking, resting, etc.
Allow yourself to feel all kinds of emotions
Mental and emotional health is not only about being happy or positive all the time, but also about learning to manage all our emotions. At times like these, it is perfectly normal and expected to feel a wide range of emotions: from joy and hope to sadness and pain.
It is extremely important that with our example, we teach children not to repress their emotions, be they positive or negative , and tell them that if they feel fear or sadness, it is completely healthy to feel it, because it is a difficult time and it is important to give space to that type as well. of feelings.
Our children will thus be able to understand that crying is a natural way of dealing with negative emotions such as sadness or pain , and that in turn it works as a relief or escape, reason enough for which we must all allow ourselves to do it every time we need it.
Express your emotions creatively and artistically
And since we are talking about emotions, we will see another tool that is very useful when identifying, understanding and, in general, managing them: artistic expression . It is not always easy to talk about our emotions and how we feel, and therefore, it may be easier to express them in another way.
There are various creative and artistic options with which we can express and release our emotions , be they positive or negative, such as:
- Write an essay or story
- Draw and shape our emotions
- Paint some drawing or just free hand painting
- Making crafts about the coronavirus
- Write a song or poem
- Make a collage
Practice gratitude exercises
Gratitude is one of the values that we need the most in these moments, where we see the outside and most of it is unfortunately bad news. But if we turn around and see who we are accompanied by and all that we have, we can realize that even in the midst of chaos we are lucky .
For this reason, and because being grateful reminds us of how much we have and teaches us to value it , it is one of the best exercises we can do during quarantine. To put it into practice with our children we can do the following activities:
- Name three things that we are grateful for every day (for example, for our family, having a home, enjoying a full meal, etc.).
- At the end of the day, sit down and talk about what we liked the most about this day and why (for example, cooking with mom or dad because we spent time together and learned something new, call grandparents on video call because we smile when we see them, etc).
- Be grateful for something that someone else in the family has done for us that day (they can be small or big things, from having passed us something we needed to having tidied up the room or prepared dinner).
Find moments of calm and solitude
Although this may particularly be more practical and easier for us as mothers and fathers to understand, it is also important that in the midst of all activities there is a moment of calm and solitude. Although it is a time to be with the family, emotional health works from the inside of oneself .
For this reason, let us foster moments of calm and solitude for the children and for ourselves. Learning to be at peace with what we feel and allow silence to give voice to our emotions, is a key piece to better understand our feelings and find the answers and peace that a good rest or moment of pause can always give us .
Do activities that make you laugh
Something that works for adults as a survival or defense mechanism in difficult times is a sense of humor, since laughter is the remedy for many ills. Sometimes an afternoon of laughter or a funny moment full of laughter can take away all that tension, stress and emotional weight that we carry.
To achieve this, we can do a wide series of family activities , from some as simple as telling jokes or trying to say tongue twisters, others more active, such as having a ridiculous and funny dance contest, to ones that make us laugh and disconnect, such as watch a funny comedy or movie.
Practice the art of doing nothing
And finally, sometimes the best plan is to have no plans at all. These days, many families are struggling to achieve it all and balance as balanced as possible between telecommuting, distance schooling, housework, and physical health care.
In these cases, resorting to routines can be a great support, but also, we must learn to be flexible and not be so rigid with what we had planned, or be too hard on ourselves if we do not comply with it . Nothing will happen if one day we choose to do nothing and simply enjoy the moment with our children and let everything flow.
Photos | iStock, Pexels
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