There’s no doubt about it: the pandemic has upturned work, daily routines, and family time. While you navigate how best to keep a routine in place and provide the best for your family, it’s important to consider how your preschooler is managing with such big changes.
We’re all adapting as best we can, but as adults, it’s a lot easier to rationalize staying home and adopting new routines. For a preschooler, being out of their school routine and away from their friends can have a massive mental impact, and could be causing undue stress.
Being A Preschooler In A Pandemic
At some point this year, you might have fetched your preschooler from daycare for the last time. With coronavirus restrictions still in place for many as we start the new year, your child might not be going back to school this January after the holidays, either. Juggling work from home or trying to arrange child care if you’re back at work has probably meant that your preschooler’s routine has changed.
The most important thing to remember is that every family and every child will adapt differently; how your home life looks won’t always match up to what’s working for others. So, what’s the best way forward for you? While there’s no easy answer to that question, we’re here to help guide you through how best to support your preschooler during this tumultuous time.
Find A Routine That Suits You
Now that the school year is starting up again, it’s time to think about a suitable routine. The routine you choose will be largely dependent on your own work schedule. Work commitments, family, and looking after the home can all provide additional layers of pressure. As important as a routine is for your child, it’s more important to balance these responsibilities out to provide stability for your preschooler.
How To Support Your Preschooler
Making time for family time can do a world of good in helping to stabilize your child’s emotions and reassure them that everything is going to work out.
Story Time
If story time isn’t part of your routine already, we highly recommend it. Story time acts as a relaxing end-of-day activity that’s free of screens and other distractions. Story time can also form part of a standard day at preschool, helping to keep some consistency in your child’s day to day activities.
Reassurance
Older preschoolers will be able to understand the basics of why their routine has changed, but that doesn’t mean the change is any less stressful. Take time to ask your child how they’re doing, comfort them when they’re stressed, and be patient as you all work to adjust.
Stick With A Routine
To the best of your ability, try to keep the essentials in your preschooler’s daily schedule, such as quiet time, story time, and meal times – keeping with some sort of routine can help reassure – work on doing what’s best for your family and your preschooler. Feel free to contact the educators at Providence Children’s Academy for more tips and education information.