Coronavirus pandemic has sent innumerable wrenches in almost every household. But one has been exceptionally bewildering. Parents also observed that the more COVID-19 lockdown measures proceed, the more their children slip back into the behaviors they had while they were before.
For instance, one mother from the UK posted on social media that her child avoids electronic devices in exchange of her old toys. Another New Jersey mom wondered why her seven-year-old had been thumb-sucking.
My big kid is regressing into carrying around his Baby Bear a lot & talking to him. It makes sense and I’m happy he’s finding a way to self-soothe but it also breaks my heart.
— Writer Donaldson (@WriterDonaldson) April 13, 2020
Behaviors such as these are not a cause for concern. Experts believe many children are currently exhibiting regression symptoms and struggling with confusion and tension is just a coping strategy.
LONDON - JANUARY 27: In this photo illustration two young child watch television at home, January 27, 2005 in London, England.
Here's something to bear in mind for parents in lockdown:
Regression differs from child to child
Anyone, children included, will develop pandemic anxiety. Although seeing them clearly depressed or upset indicates that they might require mental health care, it may be tougher to spot and resolve regressive habits.
As older children who pick up thumb-sucking again - and resort to babbling like infants, children who are potty-trained to spontaneously wet the bed every night will relapse.
There are indications today that tantrums and sticking to parents may often mean that a child has made a step backward to deal with growth.
Regression is a natural stress response
Your kid behaving like an infant doesn't mean that you have failed as a parent. The Parent of Today observed that even comparatively usual shifts in life can justify "baby mode," such as having a new sibling or not getting enough sleep.
When confronted with a disaster scenario that a pandemic will of course come into, citizens of all ages will resort to old and common coping strategies.
All of us have been sent into survival mode after witnessing this dramatic change in our lives, explained by a social worker and writer Claire Lerner of Psychology Today.
Lerner said that from higher-level brain processes, psychic capacity was redirected to only having to cope day by day.
Child psychologist Dr. Tove Klein told the New York Times that a child may knowingly or unintentionally regress to get more affection or attention from their parents.
It's not time now to discipline
Regressive habits such as tantrums coincide with acts that typically involve a time-out, so fight the temptation to order the little one to quit or "grow up."
In a post on her website, parenting writer Dr. Laura Markham recommended being gentle with children who are regressing, when their conduct indicates that they are too exhausted to cope with demands that they would otherwise have handled in the past.
Markham said that children display such actions to parents when they don't have the vocabulary to say them. She says that parents should summon all of their courage to remind themselves that during this tough period, their child needs their help to cope. Parents may either lower the expectations of the infant or raise the inner capital of the child.
This can be achieved through emotional reassurance of your infant that they are cherished and also by stepping in to assist them to get through whatever the latest issue is, such as reinforcing that they wet the bed and replacing soiled bedsheets for them.
Help them handle tough emotions
Kids may feel the need to speak up about their problems to parents. If that occurs, Lerner stressed the value of understanding the validity of how they feel before attempting to solve their dilemma.
Lerner wrote for Psychology Today that if parents miss the affirmation phase before giving reassurance or moving through the mode of problem-solving, it may not allow the child the ability to move through the emotions that motivate his actions.
Be kind, too, to yourself
Motherly agrees, you're just normal if you often feel the kids behaving as infants get on your nerves. It will take a toll on already tired parents to give additional comfort to children who require coddling.
The parenting website advises breaking up tasks with another member in the family (if there is another person or babysitter to tag-team with or having snatches of quiet time where possible when something gets too much to handle.
ALSO READ: Examining the Emotional Experiences of Adolescents as They Age
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