Parents encouraged to get creative with children to prevent anxiety

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — With all the recent changes in our world, including social distancing and cancelled classes, it can be a lot leading to anxiety over the coronavirus.

How are your children adapting?

Registered Play Therapist Supervisor Shawn Morton with Anchor Psychological expressed this is not the time for parents to withhold information about the coronavirus.

As it continues to impact our world, open communication and compassion should be top priorities.

“Being thoughtful, knowing that as much as this may be stressful for us, it’s going to be way more stressful for the kids because they don’t have as much knowledge,” Morton said.

For some kids, school being closed is just an extended break, but for others this could be a long-term period of anxiety. Morton said parents can help with open communication.

“Sometimes keeping it in simple terms like you know, this is a germ, it makes people sick. It can make people very sick, which is why it’s very important that we take these steps,” Morton said.

For older children, Morton said parents should have more in depth conversations and include information from trusted websites.

Parent Rachel Doll said honest talks in her household are a must.

“When the big questions come, sometimes, we just let them, hang in the air a little bit, and that is scary,” Doll stated. “I’m so glad that you shared that with me. I’m so sorry that you’re feeling like that.”

Morton says parents should be aware if their children experience frequent nightmares, troubles with sleeping, and OCD.

“If your child is getting obsessive to the point that they’re having heightened anxiety about keeping clean, that’s probably going in the area of things to maybe look for help on if that continues,” Morton said.

Morton also stated parents should create learning experiences centered around their interests.