The importance of keeping your child happy at home

With Covid-19 restrictions in place and children out of schools, parents are now faced with the task of keeping their children occupied at home. 

However with national lockdown firmly in place, and no date on when schools can return amongst other things, both parents and children will begin to see the effect of spending long hours at home. 

I spoke to Paulina Pérez-Duarte Mendiola – a top Paediatrician, to find out why parents need to focus on keeping their children happy and healthy whilst schools are closed, and the impact that the removal of education will have on them. 

She said: “I don’t want to sound cliché, but children are the future, and they are our responsibility. We have to be very careful, especially now with all the restrictions, health and mental-health issues that Covid-19 has provoked in our society.

“All the activities and lessons that a child gets during their early childhood is extremely valuable for their education, learning, and development. We need to help them and provide them with the tools they need for their journey, so later in life they know how to care for their health and mental-health.  

“This [pandemic] could potentially have great impact in children’s development and mental-health. Some professionals might be able to predict what will happen with this generation, nonetheless, we might need to wait a couple of years and see the results.

“The good thing now, is that we know more and more about children’s development and learning processes. We know already that this pandemic might have an important effect in children’s development and mental-health, it is our job to work hard to prevent further damage, not just improvise later on when it is too late.”

Paulina was also quick to add the importance of parents reaching out to others if they are struggling to maintain their child during lockdown, whilst also noting the significance of a parents mental health when undertaking lockdown with a young child.  

“It is important that parents protect their mental-health in order to keep going and keep smiling to their children who might not be able to understand the size of the problem.

“I advise them to keep themselves informed, being very careful of the sources where they get their information, as misinformation is dangerous. 

“I think seeking for help and valuable information could be a sweet way to keep your children healthy and provide some valuable lessons for their future life.”

Head over to our Twitter page @buzz_bmth to share your tips on keeping a child happy during lockdown.