Supporting Children During Covid-19 Pandemic

There are two factors that affect children’s psychological well-being and mental health: biological factors and environmental factors (Ye, 2020).  Prenatal factors are included in the biological factors. For example, the mother's prenatal smoking, alcohol and drug consumption include; breastfeeding and special medical care after birth are examples of prenatal factors (To, Caddarate ve Liu, 2001).  In addition to biological factors, environmental factors are effects of the environment that children birth and grow on their developmental processes.  It is possible to discuss the effects of the extraordinary pandemic conditions on the development of children under the heading of environmental factors.  Childhood is an important stage for developing social and emotional skills (Australian Government Department of Health, 2020).  Therefore, supporting children during the pandemic can help a child learn to express their thoughts and feelings and manage their behavior, so that children can build healthier relationships with others.

With the statements made by official sources on March 11, 2020, we learned that the first Covid-19 case was detected in our country, and then this epidemic was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 17, 2020.  Education was suspended at all levels after the first case was detected, and schools that are affiliated to Republic of Turkey Ministry of National Education started distance education on March 23, 2020.  Children who do not have an obstacle to go out before meeting social needs and education before this process tried to meet the needs they could meet by staying inside the house, contrary to the situation they were used to before.

To give an example from countries, Chinese government quarantined more than 80,000 people with Covid-19 and 690,000 people who had close contact with people with Covid-19, including many children (J. Liu, Y. Bao, X. Huang, J. Shi, L. Lu). The early stages of the pandemic process were full of uncertainty not only for children but also for adults. Children adapt well to the emotional state of adults. Exposure to unexplained and unforeseen behavior is perceived as a threat by children, which causes a state of anxiety (L. Dalton, E. Rapa, A. Stein, 2020). If we consider this situation within the framework of the pandemic, it is possible to say that children's anxiety levels are above the normal level and they are psychologically affected by this situation. In a study, it was concluded that children who were isolated or quarantined during pandemic diseases were more likely to develop acute stress disorder, adjustment disorder and grief (Sprang & Silman, 2013). In this case, it provides evidence that children are psychologically negatively affected by the pandemic conditions.

The impact of the Covid-19 process on each child is different. Some children cope well with social and physical distance, are more prepared to be at home and adapt to the changes in their life, while others struggle with the changes this process brings.

In this process, it is very normal for children to miss their school, friends and games, and this may cause the process to be more difficult for the child. One of the most important things in this process is family support and attention, because the process will affect their emotional regulation at this stage, to be able to adapt to the new system and to create new routines that will take control of their lives. Another word, routines and programs are important for them to adapt to this new order and feel verbally safe. The purpose of this article is to understand the importance of the needs and support for children in this process in the future of Covid-19.

To reduce the pandemic that emerged with the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak, people’s social life has been completely closed. There are also schools and parks for these areas where they learn most of their time in daily life are closed too because of the virus. In addition to these places, some minor curfews have completely restricted the sound from outside the houses. In this process,the main responsibility of parents and caregivers is helping their children to affect this situation less. In order to achieve this, they can organize activities to spend time with the children at home as a family and support their education. It is of course possible to increase these examples. We are aware that it will not be easy for parents and caregivers to do these because this  process which they are faced with is also new to them too. However, they have more control over the subject than children in terms of controlling the process. In that process, parents or caregivers who give emotional and psychological support to children can contribute to their emotional development (NASP, 2020).

Before Covid-19 process started in our country, we could follow the situation in other countries via social media and television. Since the process started suddenly in our country, we reached a lot of news on the subject and this caused an increase in the level of anxiety and fear in all of us. Developmentally inappropriate information or information designed for adults may also cause anxiety or confusion, especially in young children (NASP, 2020).  Therefore, you can create alternatives such as playing games instead of exposing your children to news about the process. However, do not skip the children's questions while doing this. You should answer children's questions without going into unnecessary details (NASP, 2020).  When communicating with your children, do not forget to correct the wrong information they teach.  In this way, you will prevent the bad situation children imagine and reduce their fears.

It is important to be able to stay in touch with the classroom teacher, friends, and even friends' families to help with matters related to the child's school from home. Because when your child has problems with homework or something else, being able to overcome it can cause anxiety. This can lead to problems such as attention deficit, sleep, and concentration difficulties in children. In order to prevent these from happening, it is important for children not to disconnect from the school during the quarantine period.

To conclude, during the quarantine period, children may experience some mental and physical problems due to staying at home. Supporting your children, keeping them at home in a way that they can stay active without getting bored will help them to cope with problems more easily. In addition, staying in touch with friends and school online will positively affect them.