Dealing with children during the Covid-19 pandemic
Children pay close attention to what adults say about the COVID-19 virus, so it is important to talk to your children calmly about this virus. Here are some ideas:
Children Stories Explaining Coronavirus
Perhaps one of the best ways to teach children important lessons and skills for life is through stories. We found some stories specially prepared to explain about Covid-19. Click on the image to open the story.
Protecting Children from the Internet
We know you are concerned about how the internet may affect your children, we hope that these sites will help you teach your children about the dangers that exist on the Internet. In addition to that, we always recommend monitoring your child's activities on the net, and what applications he/she uses. You can also use YouTube Kids, which ensures that everything your child watches is suitable for those under 12 years of age on YouTube.
In addition, we recommend monitoring children's use of social media and not allowing them to continuously follow up on the news of Coved 19 if it is inappropriate. Are you looking for sites that can help your child learn about protecting against Internet risks? Click on the links below.
Videos
Special thanks to Dr. Muna Al Shukaili
Perhaps reading stories isn't enough and you may need some videos to explain some of those stories.
Here are some of the various video clips for kids that talk about Covid-19.
How do I keep my children busy in these difficult times?
Boredom is undoubtedly a big problem children face, and although there are a lot of activities on the Internet, we encourage you to spend time and engage in activities that are not related to screens:
We have created a comprehensive file of activities suitable for children (especially those with special needs) to use at these times and we will constantly update the activities. Visit the links at the bottom of the page for more activities for children
What about children with behavioural problems or problems of mental health?
In 2019, our Psychology Of Youth team launched the Wahaj website, which is mainly concerned with children's and family's mental health, and you can access it through this link.
Applications that may interest you
Lamsa لمسة
معين Maeen
Various applications can contribute to and develop various skills. You can download some applications that are focused on education, reading, stories. There are other applications available. Here are some of our favorite applications that we recommend using.
Coping Skills for Children
We know that during these times you continuously hear unpleasant news, and we hope that you can browse through these videos to uplift your mood for a bit..
Breathing Exercises
Breathing skills are a simple and entertaining way to help you gain self-confidence, dispel fears, and bypass some difficulties. Watch some of these videos to help you pactice them with your children:
The benefits of exercise are numerous, as it is not only limited to physical benefits, but also to strengthening the personality of your children, and raising their confidence in themselves. Try to encourage them to try these exercises.
Do not forget that watching and hearing bad news will increase the production of adrenaline and cortisol in the body (anxiety hormones). Make sure that your child has many outlets for letting out chemicals caused by stress.
You can also create a sensory path. These resources will help you understand what is meant by a sensory path.
Here are some files that you may use for printing
Yoga and Exercises for Children
More Important Sources:
Educational games for children are among the most important learning tools for the child, which motivate the child to learn in light of limited curricula. And to entertain your child, there are many educational games that can help fill the void of missing school teaching.
Freeze Tag: A simple tag game but with a little bit of spice. If the tagger gets you, you have to freeze in your place until you are free by another player. If you are frozen 3 times, it's your turn to be the tagger.
Memory Game: Sit in a ring with the children, and pick someone to start off. The first person must start by saying "I went to the shop and bought..." whatever he/she wants to say. The next player must continue but he has to say what the previous player bought and the list goes on. The longer the game gets the harder it becomes for everyone to remember the list of groceries.
Treasure game: Do you want to find the lost treasure? This is a game in which the treasure (a gift or a snack for example) is hidden. In order for the children to find it, they must follow a track of clues, each one leading to the other, and the final one leads to the treasure! The first one to find the treasure is a winner.
The Guessing Game: Are you good at guessing? If so, you will love this game. Fill a bowl with sweets, then have the children write on a small paper their name and their estimated guess of the number of sweets in the bowl. The child who guesses the right or closest number wins a prize and then sweets are distributed to the children.
The Matching Game: a fun action game for children. Print pictures of many things. Each image must have two copies. Take a copy of each image and spread it upside down on the ground, the second copy is to be placed similarly. Show the children the pictures you choose and the children should find the matching images.
Does it fly or not? Game: Children love birds but do they know them? Have the children stand in front of you in a semicircle. Call out the names of animals and birds if the animal has the ability to fly, the children must wave their hands as if they're flying, but if the animal does not fly, then their hands remain steady and whoever makes a mistake loses the game and the winner is who remains last.
The Water Cup Game: This game depends on the child's agility and his/her ability to preserve what is in his/her hands. Bring two full cups of water, then divide the children into two teams. Each team stands in a queue. Give the cup to the one who stands at the beginning of the line and then let the child take a full turn around the room with the cup of water in his hand until he reaches the second player of his team and gives him/her the water cup. The next player does the same and so on until all the children took a turn. The team that lost the least water is the winner.
The Simon Says Game: A game that suits everyone and does not need tools or equipment. One player is elected as the "Simon" of the game and he/she has the authority to tell the rest of the children what to do only if they use the magic word before they speak; "Simon says...." If the children obey the orders that don't have that phrase in them, they are eliminated. The last player gets to be the next "Simon."
The Balloon game: Balloons are a necessity in parties and children love them terribly. The players are divided into two teams, a volunteer must come out from each team. Each team is given a set of balloons. And with the word "start" each team starts blowing their balloons and pasting them on the volunteer, and the team that finishes pasting all its balloons on its volunteer first is the winner!