I don’t know about you but I am beginning to feel the fog and angst that most of us have felt for the past year, lifting. Life can only get better and I have hope that life as we knew it pre-covid, will get back to normal quite quickly as we look forward to the roadmap out of lockdown. After the announcement from Boris Johnson regarding the roadmap out of lockdown, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Parents need to help their children see that they will be resuming their childhood and teenage years, (as they should be), very soon. Some children can’t wait for this, whilst others may feel less sure particularly if they’re enjoying being at home and the slower pace of life.
The Roadmap Out Of Lockdown – Looking Forward
So how can parents help their children to look forward to the future in the post-lockdown world? They can do this by..
Asking their children to make a list of all the things that they want to do as soon as they go back to school. Who do they want to see? What lessons/activities are they keen to resume?
Which friends are they missing and keen to see? Get them to think about what they want to do with them. Where do they want to visit and what adventures do they want to have together?
What are they most looking forward to when the restaurants, entertainment and shops open up? Do they miss going to the cinema, bowling or hanging out elsewhere?
How do they want to spend the summer? Teenagers can start to think about how they can make up for the lost time and doing all the things that they should have been doing the past year.
What do they want to achieve? If their chosen sport, activity or hobby is reopening, they could go back to them.
What can they catch up on socially? If they’ve missed important dates like birthday and other celebrations, can they be re-arranged?
Some children aren’t looking forward to getting out of lockdown because their life has changed. Their friendships will have changed and they may have become used to being at home and feeling safe. These children will need the most help. They won’t want to change their life but it has to happen and even if they don’t want to acknowledge it, there will be things that they will have missed in life because of lockdown. Normal life has to resume eventually so parents need to help to prepare their children for when it does as we follow the roadmap out of lockdown.
