Why Keeping the Mind and Body Active is Crucial for Mental Well-being

 

With life as we know it out the window for some time to come, I am sure many of us are feeling a range of emotions – anxiety, frustration, anger, boredom are just a few I can list for myself as I enter a second week of lock-down in Malaysia. Stricter regulations mean that now only the head of the household is allowed out and only then for essential reasons such as the purchase of food or medicine.

 

Where hitherto a walk outside was possible and parents could take their children out for fresh air, the guidelines are now firm that this is forbidden. I spotted a great meme earlier.

 

 

It is funny what is attractive to us when we are forbidden to do it! The curiosities of humans!

 

With all that is familiar changed, I have read lots of posts advising parents not to worry about schoolwork and to focus on mental health. Without doubt, your child’s mental health and well-being remain, as always, the number 1 priority; however, I feel pitting this against schoolwork or a routine is misguided.

 

Routines are what give children a sense of stability. It is helpful to know what to expect. These need not be rigid or set in stone, but maintaining elements from your normal old routine and establishing new habits that work for your family will contribute to creating a new sense of the familiar.

 

Much of what falls under the umbrella of schoolwork equally supports health and wellbeing. Stories are our greatest tool in this regard.

 

Stories enable us to understand and accept our feelings. When faced with characters in similar situations to themselves, children realise they are not alone. They may glean coping strategies to enable them to deal with what they are facing. They learn their thoughts and feelings are not alien or wrong. Right now, many children are feeling exactly as we are. Stories that address loneliness, anxiety and confinement etc. have a significant role to play in equipping your children with coping tools.

 

Stories allow us to hold a mirror to ourselves and compare our lives with that of others; in so doing, stories can promote respect and tolerance. As we see racism pour forth as this virus spreads, now, more than ever, these values are needed.

 

 

Stories also provide us with a feeling of escapism. As confinement takes a toll, particularly in countries where very strict regulations are being enforced, what better way to beat boredom than to escape to another world for a few hours? Seek out marvellous tales to spark imagination and curiosity at this time.

 

The more your child reads, the more their vocabulary develops (giving them the language with which to discuss a wider range of topics, themes and emotions) and the more confident they grow in their reading ability and in their view of themselves as readers. The long-term importance of being highly-literate is well-known in terms of school success and access to jobs and opportunities.

 

Setting aside schoolwork time in the day does not mean you have to spend that time teaching. There is HUGE value for children in simply reviewing work they have completed. This retrieval practice strengthens learning to date and makes it easier to recall and access later. Other than very young children or those with specific educational needs, all will be able to work with a great measure of independence on reviews of topics or skills previously learned.

 

For both adults and children alike, being focused on a task can ease stress as our minds are occupied with the challenge to hand. If this gains you a few moments of peace and quiet, I should imagine this makes a positive contribution to your own stress levels! This becomes even more important if you are a parent trying to juggle working from home with childcare. In such instances, another useful thing to do is to outsource the teaching task to someone else! There are a wealth of videos online with more cropping up each day at this time. The creative subjects and P.E. have a huge contribution to make in terms of well-being so allocating ‘schoolwork’ time to these makes sense.

 

 

I think it is important for all of us to look for ways to manage our stress levels at this time; however, I am mindful that for many, these unprecedented times bring unprecedented burdens and pressures – job losses, perhaps being a keyworker on the frontline, knowing someone who is unwell but being unable to support as you would like, cancelled family and social occasions, being unable to give a loved one the send-off we would like. The burdens are many and likely to continue. I have no answer in terms of how we deal with these other than to reach out for support and to encourage one another as best we can.

 

So much of what we now face is outside our control. I can be mad as hell with those who flout quarantine guidelines, but that does nothing to change their behaviour. Instead, I wind up with raised cortisol levels and the ensuing health damage that brings. Limiting time spent on social media and watching the news is helpful as the constant bombardment of information can feel overwhelming. Focusing on things that are within our control may be a healthier mindset to adopt.

 

 

It is within our power to control what happens in our home and to set the tone for our home. I have written before about how our actions, language, gestures and responses etc. create this tone. Although we may not feel calm, it is important to portray this to children in so far as possible. Flipping our mindset from the things we can’t do to those we can may be helpful for some. Sumaira Z writes wisely on this theme.

 

 

In terms of a mindset shift and viewing home as a sanctuary, perhaps sitting down to create a family bucket-list for the quarantine period could be useful. Some things to include could be:

 

• Making a list of films/documentaries each member of the family would like to watch;

• Drawing up a list of books you haven’t yet got round to reading;

• Making your own pizzas and having a pizza party;

• Trying out an art idea your child would like to explore;

• Allowing a sensory or messy play activity that is normally banned!; 

• Organising photos into albums or creating a slideshow of family pictures (captioned as appropriate);

• Filming a funny video (perhaps a music video to accompany a favourite family song);

• Having a dance party;

• Creating something out of recyclables;

• Having family board-game evenings;

• Cooking a new recipe.

 

Many of us benefit from feeling useful in a crisis (I have never written as frequently in the hope something I say resonates or helps another!). Looking for practical ways to help others may be another good focus for us.

• How can we support frontline key workers? Discuss with children how our actions in staying at home are for the greater good.

• How can we help charities working with the poor or homeless? Some may like to donate their pocket money to a local cause.

• Can we help out in our community? Perhaps children can WhatsApp their grandparents so they don’t feel lonely.

Encouraging our children to be community-minded is something that will stand them in great stead in the future, and I am sure they will suggest some brilliant ideas.

 

My hope for anyone reading this is that you stay healthy and well and that you find what works for your family at this time. 

 

Take care and stay well all!

 

Images 2 and 3 courtesy of Pixabay.