Helping Kids Cope with COVID-19 Worries

如何帮助儿童克服疫情焦虑

 

Stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19 have been in place for several months now. For many parents, these requirements have led to a balancing act between working from home and attending to their children. Families have been forced to adapt to unexpected disruptions in their daily routines, and kids have been isolated from their peers – all of which can affect their psychological well-being.

 

由于COVID-19疫情，留在国内的订单已经数月。对许多父母来说，这要求导致他们在居家工作和照顾孩子之间取得平衡。家庭被迫适应这次疫情的特殊情况，孩子们与同伴隔离——所有这些都可能影响他们的心理健康。

 

“I think even though everyone is having some experience of loss and grief over not getting to do the things they’re used to doing, we’re going to see a lot of individual differences in how kids react.”

 

“我认为，尽管每个人都会因为没能做他们习惯做的事情而感到失落和悲伤，但我们会看到在反应上孩子们有很多个体差异。”

 

University of Washington psychologist Liliana Lengua. She says a child’s temperament has a big influence on how they respond to stressful events.

 

华盛顿大学的心理学家莉莉安娜·仑古安。她说，孩子的性情对他们如何应对压力事件有很大影响。

 

“Kids who were already prone to being fearful or anxious might be especially anxious about getting sick or about family members getting sick.”

 

“那些本来就容易害怕或焦虑的孩子可能会对生病或家人生病特别焦虑。”

 

Very sociable kids may struggle more with social isolation than others do. And kids who are easily frustrated may become even more so. But despite these differences, Lengua says parents can help their kids cope by validating their feelings.

 

社交能力很强的孩子可能比其他人更容易被社会孤立所困扰。而那些容易沮丧的孩子可能会变得更加沮丧。尽管存在这些差异，仑古安说父母可以通过认同孩子的感受来帮助他们应对这些情绪。

 

“Validating really means hearing, listening, recognizing what the source of that person’s emotional experience is – and recognizing the truth of it.”

 

“确认真正的意思是倾听，认识到那个人的情感体验的源头是什么——认识到它的真相。”

 

It’s also important to check in with kids about the very real fears they face.

 

了解孩子们真正害怕什么也很重要。

 

“Inviting children to talk openly, and sometimes showing our own vulnerability, can be helpful in facilitating that conversation.”

 

“与孩子们开诚布公地交谈，有时候也展示一下我们自己的脆弱，更有助于促进和孩子们的对话。”

 

For teens, being cut off from friends can be especially challenging.

 

对青少年来说，与朋友断绝关系尤其具有挑战性。

 

“And I think all parents can do at that point is validate their youth: ‘This is awful. This is hard. I know this is really a loss for you.’ And just recognize those feelings and not dismiss them.”

 

“我认为，在这个时候，所有的父母都应该认可自己的年轻：‘这太可怕了。这是很难的。我知道这对你来说是个损失。’然后意识到这些感觉，不要忽视它们。”

 

But how can a parent tell if their child might be developing more serious mental health issues? Lengua suggests keeping an eye out for big changes from their normal selves.

 

但是父母如何判断他们的孩子是否有更严重的心理健康问题呢？仑古安建议留意他们正常生活中的巨大变化。

 

“Has this gotten really so extreme that it’s interfering with that child’s functioning or their relationships?”

 

“这种情况真的变得如此极端以至于影响到孩子的正常生活或他们的人际关系了吗？”

 

For example, more intense and frequent emotional breakdowns, an inability to enjoy anything or withdrawal from the family. In those cases, Lengua recommends seeking professional guidance, which could start with the family pediatrician.

 

例如，更强烈和频繁的情感崩溃，无法享受快乐或退出家庭。在这种情况下，仑古安建议寻求专业指导，可以从家庭儿科医生开始。

 

As the school year finishes, and we head into summer, uncertainty remains:

 

随着学年的结束，我们进入了夏季，但是不确定性依然存在：

 

“We don’t have an end point. We don’t know even what fall is going to look like. We’re going to have to find more tools and skills for keeping up our spirits, for keeping up our resilience.” One crucial way parents can help their kids?

 

“我们没有终点。我们甚至不知道秋天会是什么样子。我们必须找到更多的工具和技能来保持我们的心态，保持我们的韧性。”父母帮助孩子的一个重要方式是什么?

 

“I think parents really need to take care of themselves, too.”

 

“我认为父母也更需要照顾好自己。”

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