Supporting and maintaining the well-being of 7-11 years old children during the coronavirus period

Academic advisor from the Psychological Counseling and Guidance Club of Cyprus International University (CIU), Assist. Prof. Dr. Şerife Özbiler stated that children are one of the riskiest groups that can be affected by the coronavirus epidemic, affecting all over the world, and she made some recommendations for parents.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Özbiler indicated that the closure of schools, being away from teachers and friends, the change in the daily routine, staying at home and adapting to distance education, can negatively affect the school-age children’s personal well-being, so it is important that parents support and work to maintain their children's well-being.

Özbiler drew attention to the rule of assurance, routines, and regulations known as the 3Rs (Reassurance, Routines, and Regulation) while emphasizing the importance of parents’ support regarding the protection of children’s personal well-being.

It was explained that children can ask their parents when they can go out, when they can go to school or when they can play with their friends and these questions should be answered by parents without ignorance.

Özbiler mentioned that this process is a physical distance, and “children can be allowed to communicate with their teachers, friends, and neighbors at certain time intervals through the social media.”

It was also reminded that it may be necessary to create new routines or to re-organize the usual routines during this period because children’s anxiety levels may increase when they do not have anything to do.

At this point, Özbiler said that it would be beneficial for parents to create activities for their children and develop games that they can play at home, and that opportunities could be created for children to gain new skills to support their well-being.

She also gave information about the new changes : “Children will experience adaptation problems during the distance education process that was initiated recently. In this process, children should be allowed to express their negative feelings.”