Everybody has suffered a wave of mental trauma over the last year. Children, in particular, are caught in a vulnerable state where their world seems to have changed completely and they바카라™ve had to adapt to a new way of living. The key to helping children stay safe, in a good space, and keep themselves mentally active is to remember that their needs need to be met, no matter what.
Whether it바카라™s face-to-face interaction or digital, technology is not the villain here, it바카라™s how we use technology that causes problems. I can go online and use it to distract myself, to fill my mind with fear and doubt, to bully others or I can use it to learn, to connect with others, to help others, to contribute to society. Instead of 바카라˜banning바카라™ technology, parents need to take the time to understand and master their child바카라™s needs. The more you do that, the more you can support them no matter what the environment is. As long as a child feels that their needs are met, they will develop the mental and emotional strength to get through this pandemic. Here are three ways on how you can help your child:
1. Support your child is having a growth mindset:
You need to shift away from the mindset of success and failure, and stop putting so much pressure on a child about studying and academic achievement; that바카라™ll only get them short-term results. Instead, help them become a life-long learner. Help them fall in love with learning, not just academic learning but learning about life, about different interests, hobbies, about people, whatever it is that catches their attention and that they are interested in. Help them and inspire them to love learning. If they come from learning instead of success and failure, they will never fear failure. A lot of our mental health is affected by the fear of failure and that바카라™s why academic achievement is always such a stressor for children. If they practice their learning muscle and develop into a lifelong learner, they will never feel that internal pressure. That means learning will become a source of joy and fun rather than a source of stress. Parents need to learn not to over-control what their child grows in, to let them find their passion for learning even if the subject may seem irrelevant to them. It바카라™s the muscle of growth and learning which they바카라™re developing that is important and that can be used and applied to anything in life- academically or non-academically.
2. Give them love and connection:
Remember that one of our primary needs is love and connection. If children can바카라™t get that need met from seeing their friends right now then they need to find other sources. So if they must connect digitally for a while then that바카라™s the way to do it. A child that does not have love and connection will get wrapped up in their heads too much. They바카라™ll start to have negative thoughts, they바카라™ll worry too much and they바카라™ll start to stress. Love and connection is a fundamental need and the more interactive you can make it, the better. Let them play games (video games or board games) and let them bond with each other. That time is essential for them; don바카라™t deny that time, direct that time- whether it바카라™s half an hour or an hour a day. Don바카라™t delete or manipulate that time. Let them find friends that are valuable to them and let them find ones with a growth mindset that will help them develop theirs too. It바카라™s helpful to be around people that are naturally driven by the same way of being.
3. Help build your child바카라™s mental and emotional muscles:
Instead of using Covid as a tool to cause fear, use it as a tool to teach them a great life lesson. Teach them about the power of courage and caring. Give them references of courage and caring from the community and inspire them on how they can use theirs right now. Maybe that is by starting a project, fundraising, or contributing in any small way possible. This moment in history is so unprecedented that it바카라™s a great opportunity to learn powerful life lessons. Don바카라™t shy away from the topic of Covid, don바카라™t bring it up as something to be fearful of, bring it up to help them be more grateful, faithful, and stronger. Use it to inspire them so that they have the inner strength to get through this and any difficult time in their life, set them up for the future and a world of uncertainty
 (Anand Chulani is a success coach and leading mental and emotional fitness expert. He has worked with over 100k youth and families and over 500k people. Views are personal)
