How to Have Family Gatherings During Social Distancing

One of the many things people have to sacrifice when doing social distancing is family gatherings. In many places, mass gatherings and even family reunions are strongly discouraged. It’s not hard to understand why. Transmission of diseases can happen very quickly when people congregate socially. 

Missing family gatherings is difficult and sad. It only exacerbates the emotional burden we feel in the midst of a challenging time. But don’t worry. There are several creative ways to connect with family and loved ones despite the distance. Here are some of the helpful ideas you may want to try!

Have a virtual dinner together

While visiting the homes of your family and relatives when doing social distancing is impossible, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy fun conversations over a hearty meal with them. Because you can. Thanks to the internet, you can still eat together even from afar!

Because family gatherings are made extra special when there’s food, why don’t you plan a virtual family dinner which everybody can enjoy over a video call? Prepare your favorite meals and dishes and schedule the dinner on a day when everybody is present. A weekend night perhaps? Or a midweek dinner will do, too. Whenever you want to have it won’t really matter. The important thing is that you are all gathered together (virtually) to share conversations and nice meals to bond and keep the connection alive. 

Hangout virtually whenever you can 

There’s no better time to make good use of the internet than now. So, don’t hesitate to ping a family member from afar and hangout virtually every chance you get. If you’ve got some free hours on any random day, invite family or relatives to jump in on a video call while you’re having coffee or watching your favorite shows. You can have fun conversations over coffee or tea or watch the same TV show or movie together! 

There are plenty of platforms to choose from. You can do it on Facebook Messenger, Facetime, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp and more! Not only is video chatting helpful in bridging the distance to make family gatherings possible; having those face to face interactions and socialization is also good for your mental health. Even when they are virtual.

Play online games together

Games make family gatherings more fun and exciting. And even when you’re doing social distancing, you can still inject fun and excitement into your virtual parties by playing online games together. 

Look for online multiplayer games where several players can participate. From board games such as puzzles, scrabble and chess to more complex, role-playing games, there’s an extensive range of games out there to entertain your family for hours!

Create an online group for the family

Does everybody in the family have social media accounts? If they do, choose an online platform everyone is comfortable using. Create a group and invite the rest of the family to join in! Use this group to stay connected with everyone through chats, photos, audio and video calls – anything to keep everybody in the loop. This is also an excellent place to share old memories to remind you of the good old times and make you look forward to gathering together again in the near future. 

Go back to the traditional method of communication – write a letter

Writing letters may seem a little old-fashioned but who says they’re a bad idea? In fact, writing a letter may make a family feel extra special. 

There’s something about handwritten notes and letters that gives the recipient a warm, fuzzy feeling. Perhaps, it’s the fact that it’s more personal because they’re written on a piece of paper and not typed in an email or text message. So go ahead and write a family member a letter or a greeting card. Feel free to include photos or scribbles and hand-drawn pictures from the kids. This is an excellent way to maintain a sense of connection and provide a reminder of love even from afar. 

Family gatherings may not always be possible due to certain circumstances but who says you can’t keep the connection alive? With a little creativity, you can maintain the connection and continue strengthening the bond with family members despite the distance!

For more helpful tips on parenting or if you’re looking for the best preschool for your child, please feel free to visit Imagine Nation Learning Center. 

 

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5 Coping Strategies for Kids Who are Dealing with Anxiety

In today’s frenetic world, feelings of anxiety or stress are common. Adults are not the only ones suffering from this. Children feel anxious, too.

Sometimes, you may get so busy with your own daily struggles that you tend to ignore or not acknowledge your children’s feelings. Children’s anxiety can increase and could affect their development as they grow older.

So, how do you handle such situations? What are the best and most effective coping strategies for kids that you can implement to help them escape the cycle of anxiety?

Often, anxiety among children may arise from different causes impacting their normal routine, such as specific situations in school or with friends. In certain cases, your child may be suffering from lack of self-confidence or low self-esteem. Some children may have learned to “worry” too much about almost everything. 

Whatever the case, there are simple and practical solutions that will help your child cope with anxiety:

Let them acknowledge the feeling

Parents’ first instinct when they see their child getting anxious is to tell them to “relax” or “don’t worry”. While it’s normal, no child has ever stopped worrying just because he/she has been told to do so. Worry has become an integral aspect in our lives and serves a good purpose in how we live day-by-day.

Without worry in our life, we might never be able to prepare ourselves for actual threats that may occur. Worry acts as a sort of practice for our minds in that regard. Still, it can be carried to unproductive levels.

It is important that you let your child acknowledge their emotions and give them uninterrupted time to vent out their worries, as well as frustrations. Then, you can brainstorm together to come up with a suitable solution.

Talk to your child

Avoid asking leading questions, instead simply inquire about their feelings that day or at that particular moment. Encourage your child to talk openly about his/her feelings. You can let them list out their emotions just like how you would do with a shopping list. This will help them clarify what is going on around them and alleviate the pressure they may be having.

Set up a calm-down and relaxing space

A space specifically designed to help your child calm down or manage their anxiety is one of the most effective coping strategies for kids. You can set up a space in their bedroom—a cozy and comfortable spot where they can go when needed. This is beneficial for your child because not only will they know that they have somewhere to go when they feel anxious, but they can feel relaxed and happy knowing that you care enough for them to create this calm-down space.

Most often, children’s anxiety is aggravated when they feel alone and unloved. 

Practice the PNB (Pause, Notice, Breathe)

Sometimes, amidst the chaos of our busy life, we forget to take a break. The same principle applies to kids. Encourage your child to learn how to take a break—pause, notice, and breathe.

This little exercise is simple: pause, notice the things around you or notice the feeling that may arise, and gently breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Through this exercise, you can help your child manage their anxiety as this slows everything down.

The more you encourage your child to practice this, the more they will be able to naturally incorporate this into their daily routine.

Help your child create a coping kit

Aside from the calm-box space, you can also help your child build their own coping kit. If you want your child to work through his/her anxieties and worries, help him/her learn various coping skills.

There are so many strategies that you can both try. You can create a list of strategies and use them when triggers arise. Some include:

• Stress balls
• Deep breathing
• Journaling or just writing down your worries
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Seek assistance from an adult

Try these simple strategies and figure out what works best.

What’s most important is that you let your child know that you are and always will be there when needed.

Take care of your own needs, too. Teaching a child how to cope with anxiety may be stressful for parents as well. 

If you want more help managing your child’s anxiety, feel free to contact us at Imagine Nation Learning Center. We are more than happy to offer you with more effective anxiety coping strategies for kids.

 

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