
Having a child at home because of COVID-19 is very different than having a teen at home because they can’t go anywhere else. Smaller children are more likely to love the 24/7 time they are currently getting from parents that are normally at work, on a business call, or tied up with errands. Teens are used to a relatively higher level of freedom. Much of their schoolwork was completed outside of the home, meaning that less time was demanded from parents to jump in and offer support. There are two factors that need to be taken into consideration: 1) the emotional impact of being unable to see and interact with people they normally do (and get away from you) 2) the amount of structure that will be needed to mimic a classroom for long enough that their work gets done. There are lots of teens out there that are goal-oriented, independent, and capable students who will switch rather seamlessly to a distance learning model. However, you would not have searched for information on this topic if that was YOUR teen (probably). There are others, including almost all of the teens that we serve at Kids BRAIN, that are bright but disorganized, capable of effort but only with a structure to cue them to get started, and easily distracted by the “home” things around them that they may not have at school, like a TV, tablet, or phone to pull them away from what they NEED to do right now. Below, we have included some articles and ideas generated from a variety of sources. Shout out to Child Mind Institute. Your team is brilliant and you make my life easier by being so thorough in your offerings and willingness to share on your website. Another shout out to Drs. Peg Dawson and Richard Guare. Your research is amazing and your materials invaluable to me and my patients. Hope this helps bring a lot of productivity and a little calm to this chaotic mess we are all wading through together. Stay healthy out there!
NY Times supporting anxiety in teens (more on this in a prior post on this blog as well)
Child Mind-homework tips
https://childmind.org/article/strategies-to-make-homework-go-more-smoothly/
Smart But Scattered Homework Log-visual structure to help teens see what needs to be done, what materials they will need, when to ask for help, and when it’s due
Smart But Scattered Project Planner-organizational structure to put the pieces needed to complete a longer-term project into motion
Keep moving: while continuing the focus on social distancing, teens, especially athletic teens, will need a physical outlet. With sports practices and games suspended, this will likely mean using the space in and around your home. Plan on making room for movement every day for general wellness and anxiety management. I have been including myself in this process at my house, which my teenager seems to be tolerating because we are actually out and about (riding bikes, walking, going to the park to play catch)
Pure Barre On Demand is offering a 60 day free trial. Promo code: EXTENDEDTRIAL.
Go to https://ondemand.purebarre.com/ click the 30 day trial, start, and put in code – it extends from 30 to 60 days and puts fee to $0
Being at home may be the golden opportunity to slow down and focus on our own thinking, feeling, and doing systems. This may mean sharing time to learn about mental health issues related to anxiety, depression, and happiness. I would highly recommend the below course.
Yale University is offering a free course online, The Science of Well-Being, that teaches you how to be happier.
Another option taught by Professor Laurie Santos called Psychology and the Good Life became the most popular class in Yale’s history and garnered national and international media attention.
To share the class’ contents with a wider audience, Santos created a Coursera course. You can audit it entirely for free or opt for a $49 certificate of completion.
Game play for teens (no, not a video game)
Imaginiff is a good group game that only one person has to have, same with Scattegories or trivia, which could accommodate two or more players. Utilizing an online platform like Board Game Arena is another idea as well.
At my home, we have instituted a family game time while dinner is being prepared and eaten. We frequently play board games, but having this as a “required” but tolerated element allows us to all be in the same place, at the same time, enjoying each other.