The new coronavirus has had quite an impact, not only on the healthcare sector but on our daily, social, professional and family lives as well. Unfortunately, it has also caused some dramatic changes in our children’s lives too. Suddenly, our children were off from school, away from their friends and classmates, in quarantine, obliged to practice social distancing.  

Under these difficult circumstances there are a few things we can do to help our children and protect their mental state. In this article however, we will be focusing on a very important thing. In helping our children keep in touch with their friends.

Many of us are trying to maintain a good and friendly relationship with our children and in many cases, this is something we are actually good at. This however, does not mean that our children are no longer in need of their friends and we should not suppose that a good relationship with our children can make up for them being parted from their friends, their classmates and their old routines. 

Today, more than ever, our children need to keep in touch with other children. Even if we want to believe that our children trust us and talk to us about everything, there will always be things that they feel better talking about with their friends. Especially when we are dealing with teenagers. 

When keeping in touch with their friends, our children will be able to share their worries and discuss about what’s bothering them during these difficult times. They will get the chance to speak in their own language, about things only they know. Talking to friends helps children relieve stress and anxiety. It’s a form of confirmation that despite the distance, they are still part of a group and a way to realize that whatever they are going through, they are not alone. With other children, our children are more likely to have a good laugh. We all know how good for our health a good laugh is and how much we all need it right now. We should also not forget that what we are going through at the moment is a temporary thing and children will eventually go back to school and their old routines. And when that day comes, we definitely don’t want to see children who became strangers because of the distance, but loving friends who got back together.

Small children are also in need to keep in touch with other children of their age. Even though small children aren’t facing the challenges of adolescence yet, the fact that they have to deal with a situation that they don’t fully realize or understand, because of their age, also makes them vulnerable. Helping them keep in touch with friends or relatives on a daily basis, will help them just like older children.

During this time, we continue to take measures for our children’s safety when using technology and the internet. However, we need to be a little more flexible with the time limits on the use of electronics, in order to facilitate and help our children stay in touch with their friends and classmates, using the phone or different apps.