Extended lockdowns and social distancing are difficult for everyone, but our little ones are some of the most impacted. Young children may not understand what’s going on or why they suddenly can’t see their beloved friends or family. This combined with household stressors can seriously affect them, so helping maintain your child’s mental health is incredibly important right now. Social emotional learning is a large part of child development, and must be considered while learning at home through online preschool or other homeschool options.
Be Honest With Them
Little ones are naturally intuitive. Therefore, hiding the current world state from them is not always the best solution. Be as honest as you can about what’s going on, to try and maintain trust and communication.
Talk About Emotions
This could be an excellent opportunity to help your little one learn to talk about their feelings. They may be scared and/or worried, especially if they can see or sense stress within you. Talk these things out! It is an excellent way to model behavior and help guide them to start their social emotional learning journey.
Use Technology to Maintain Connections
Your children might not be able to go to school or visit family and friends, but technology makes it easier to stay in touch! Video chatting is widespread and easy for anyone with a smart device or laptop, so make use of them — arrange virtual playdates with their friends or family to support their social learning and development.
Maintain an Educational Schedule
One main thing to avoid is allowing your child to become accustomed to screen time and couch lounging all day. Look into educational resources for young children or consider an online preschool, so that they can maintain a schedule and continue some form of instruction during this strange time. Try to give them a schedule that resembles their old routines as much as possible, so their day-to-day lives still have some familiar structure — this is incredibly important for their social emotional learning.
Playgarden Prep Wants to Help!
Playgarden Prep is a top-tier NYC preschool, with locations in Tribeca and Upper East Side. During COVID-19, we are offering online preschool classes so that your little one can continue to learn from home. In-person preschool and enrichment classes are available as well. Click here to learn more about us and our unique teaching approach!
