Coronavirus, the game-changer in family life and child care

Coronavirus is the game-changer in family life and child care today in the pre-COVID-19 era of busy and working parents who spent fewer hours at home and with their children.

It is important for parents to spend quality time with children and that is what the lockdown, restricted movements and work from home must benefit children.

In many parts of the world, children hardly saw their parents coming home at night and less to the same experience first thing in the morning.

The coronavirus pandemic is not all about the negatives. Around the world today families, especially small ones are reconnecting, parents are becoming truly parents again rather than people who had transferred their core parental duties to schools, teachers and other caregivers to chase money, beat the rush hour traffic and get to work where they suffer all the stress.

Children need our love, kindness, and strength at this time that parents and guardians are with them at home. This will make them feel secure and confident with themselves in this critical moment.

Children in this fast-paced world, have lost so much in terms of developing unbreakable bonds with parents, they hardly get everlasting values instilled in them because parents are on the move, but the COVID-19 seems to be helping in this regard.

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The fear of leaving children in the hands of people as a result of the unpredictable coronavirus means that parents have moved their families into default mode. Every parent is protecting his or her children today than ever imagined before the Coronavirus outbreak.

Family life and child care have gained the highest attention of parents and guardians today. In fact, they are now seemingly playing their parental roles in training children at home all because the luxury of going to work has been halted.

For many children with working and busy parents, they are spending more time with mums and dads than ever due to lockdown, closure of schools and working at home.

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Parents and guardians must seize these opportunities offered by the pandemic to teach good morals, bond emotionally with their children and develop the perfect social life and benefits of raising their children themselves while the coronavirus virus is around.

Today more parents are spending less time at work and more hours at home with their immediate families and kids and this is good for effective family life and child care. Children who have missed this opportunity over the years are not benefiting immensely from the COVID-1.  Family life and child care options have changed indeed and emotionally, children are better off with their parents constantly being at home with them.

In many parts of Africa including Ghana, children are still on the streets, in the street corners playing instead of being at home. It is looking as though the dangers of staying out has not gotten to many parents in this part of the world.

There is a need for parents to restrict the movement of their children out of the home and give them the reasons why such actions cannot be permitted. This is the time for parents to get to know their children far better and groom them as well.

WHO Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Healthy Parenting

To help parents interact constructively with their children during this time of confinement, these six one-page tips for parents cover planning one-on-one time, staying positive, creating a daily routine, avoiding bad behaviour, managing stress, and talking about COVID-19. Use them to your and your kids’ advantage, and have fun in doing so.

Download and read: LINK 1    LINK 2

Source: NewsGhana24 | Wisdom Hammond