7 Tips For Calming Kids During a Summer with No Camp

As social distancing enters its third month and many summer camps have announced plans for staying shuttered for the summer, parents are finding more challenges in keeping their kids calm, grounded and occupied. Ask local mom, Marla Michele Must and she’ll tell you that parenting a child, let alone one with special needs and PTSD, during a pandemic is not a job for the faint of heart. So, what’s a parent to do?

Must, a master portrait artist and owner of Enchanted Photography has been finding creative ways to keep her 13 year old daughter, Sasha Jade calm during the pandemic. In an effort to create calm for her daughter and to provide a creative element for herself, Must has taken to going out on photographic missions to find the beauty all around us. She’s chronicled the adventures through a series of photos of Sasha Jade finding beauty, as well as reporting about their journeys on her social media.

In addition to developing a variety of calming activities parents can do with their children, like Must’s beauty walks and photography sessions with her daughter, licensed Psychologist and owner of Viewpoint Psychology and Wellness, Melanie Schwartz Psy.D offers these tips for calming kids during the pandemic:

• Maintain structure for them. Kids thrive on structure. School creates structure and routine for their week. Without any school or activities, this is a breeding ground for anxiety. Kids like to be able to predict their days. When and what they are doing at a specific time and day. Therefore, keep a schedule for them. You don’t have to schedule every moment of the day, but some structure right now is better than no structure. For example, wake them up at the same time every-day and put them o bed at the same time every-day. Feed them meals at or around the same time. Create time for play and time for homework. That way they can predict what their day is going to look like and decrease their anxiety.
• Pay close attention to what information they are getting from television or social media. There is a lot of scary information available today about the pandemic. Keep a close eye on what they are watching and limit their access to this information. If you want to watch or read about information regarding the pandemic, try to do it without the kids around. Little eyes and ears see and hear everything.
• Give the kids information about the pandemic. As adults, we want information because it makes us feel like we have control over the situation. Kids are the same. They don’t need all of the information that we have, but, give them basic facts and set up a time for them to ask questions and talk about how they are feeling. Tell them that you will protect them and keep them safe and let them know that they can talk to you about the pandemic at any time. Teach them how to stay safe. Teach them proper handwashing, how to keep distance from others, etc. Tell them that these things will keep them safe.
• Promote socialization. Kids are missing their friends right now. Set up a virtual playdate, Facetime call or zoom party with a few friends. This will keep them connected and feeling less lonely and isolated.
• Let the kids play. We are usually so busy with our lives. We are overscheduled and under “played”. Now we have the time to let the kids be kids. Let them play outside (now that the weather is improving). Let them use their imagination and come up with their own activities. Play a board game, put together a puzzle, have family movie night or game night. Learn a new activity together.
• Exercise. This one is very important. Exercise is great for reducing anxiety in addition to keeping us active. Kids are used to gym class, sports and other extracurriculars that involve physical activity. Being at home can easily turn into us being less active than normal. Take the kids on a walk or run, go for a bike ride, take an online yoga class. These activities will keep the anxiety down and tire out the kids who have a lot of energy right now, without their normal structure to tire them out.
• Mindfulness activities are a great way to help calm the kids during this time. Being mindful means being present. Being aware of your own emotions, mental state, and physical sensations in your body, as well as being aware of what is going in your environment. A great way to engage the kids in this would be to create a scavenger hunt for them outside. Make a list of objects for them to find and when they do, then talk to them about how it makes them feel to accomplish this task. You can also ask them, how does it feel to be outside? How does it feel to spend time with your family right now? Or any other question you can think of. Another way to be mindful is to go outside and name things that you see, smell, hear, and can touch. This activity brings kids into their present state and helps to calm and distract from unwanted thoughts and feelings. You can do the exact same activities inside if the weather isn't cooperating.

Because the activity has proven so grounding to her own family, Must is offering local parents the opportunity to sign up for a complementary social distance observant ‘Nature Walk’ finding beauty portrait sessions to families. Interested families can contact Enchanted Photography by calling 248-910-0555 or visiting them online at www.enchantedbymarlamichele.co... or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Encha...

For more information about Melanie Schwartz Psy.D and Viewpoint Psychology and Wellness, visit. www.viewpointpw.com.