DETROIT – We’ve all been dealing with a lot since the pandemic began.
Children know it’s not normal and they can pick up on our stress and worries. They’re confused about the vague threat about a germ that makes people sick and keeps them from seeing their friends.
Older children hear about politics. They might not be sure what it is, but they know it makes people angry, while other children may confront some very real threats that can strike very close to home.
The bottom line is that parents should talk with their children because if you’re feeling stress, anxiety, frustration, fear, anger -- they are too.
Fran Schumer Chapman has written a series of books to help parents have difficult conversations with their children. Parents shouldn’t make the mistake of assuming their children are unaware of the stress. Chapman said we can’t leave it to our children to figure out a scary world on their own.
The biggest challenge is that we don’t like having tough conversations with our partners, ourselves or our children.
The place to start those conversations is knowing that the source of your child’s stress is very likely similar to your own.
You can watch Steve Garagiola’s full story in the video above.