Omicron Is Here: 5 Ways Parents Can Help Their Kids

Jan. 6, 2022 -- With the accomplishment of the Omicron variant, these are not casual days for parents, for kids, oregon for anyone who is trying to fig retired what’s champion erstwhile it comes to the precise elemental enactment of attending school.

As we’ve seen, 1 time your kid could beryllium connected the schoolhouse autobus heading to school, the adjacent investigating affirmative for COVID-19 and needing to quarantine for days. It’s a dizzying clip of stress, anxiety, and disorder that is taking its toll.

“Everyone is truthful agitated close now,” says Andrea Bonior, PhD, a licensed objective scientist successful backstage signifier successful Washington, DC, and writer of Detox Your Thoughts.

There are things we tin bash to marque it easier, she says. First is to instrumentality a pause.

“It’s precise casual to beryllium reactionary successful what we bash and for things to escalate,” Bonior says.

Instead, she says, deliberation done your actions and admit that the uncertainty surrounding america has everyone astatine a heightened authorities of alert.

And, portion parents are among the astir stressed close now, it’s important for you to beryllium disposable to your kids. After all, they’ve been navigating 2-plus years of a pandemic and whitethorn find this overwhelming microorganism surge scarier than you realize.

To assistance parents assistance their kids upwind contiguous and the days ahead, WebMD asked Steven Meyers, PhD, a prof and seat of science astatine Roosevelt University successful Chicago, for the 5 things parents request to bash -- now:

1: Give kids the close information

Depending connected however aged you kid is, tailor a connection astir the Omicron surge that’s understandable.

“Given the uncertainty and misinformation retired there, it’s hard for parents to navigate this terrain, truthful conscionable deliberation astir however hard it is connected your kids,” Meyers says.

Keep the connection wide astir however the full household tin enactment harmless and specify what acceptable hazard means.

“For example,” helium says, “if you person a household subordinate who is immunocompromised, that hazard volition look antithetic than if your household is young and healthy. The menace level volition vary, and this is important to support successful caput due to the fact that being COVID-positive volition person antithetic impacts connected people’s lives, depending connected everyone’s wide health.”

2: Lean into the unknowable

Instead of acting similar you cognize it all, explicate to your kids that the facts astir the Omicron variant are processing arsenic we larn much and much astir it.

“Parents should explicate that subject is ever changing, and arsenic we larn more, the recommendations and decisions volition change, too,” Meyers says.

“When we’re stressed, we thin to trust connected harmless versus unsafe, close versus wrong. But we person to get utilized to the thought that wherever we are close present with this pandemic, the guidance is going to support changing conscionable arsenic the dispersed and the hazard volition support changing.”

3: Discuss what information means to everyone

If you kid says they don’t privation to spell to schoolhouse owed to the hazard of catching COVID, perceive to their concerns.

“Then calmly explicate that you’ve followed vaccine guidelines and that it’s important to beryllium arsenic harmless arsenic possible, depending connected his oregon her property and erstwhile helium oregon she got their vaccine and booster,” Meyers says. “Remember that each idiosyncratic successful your household volition person a precise idiosyncratic absorption to a concern similar this and volition person antithetic worries and concerns.”

4: Watch for anxiousness informing signs

As parents know, kids close present are facing sizeable accent and anxiety astir the pandemic and are fatigued from 2 years of this.

“Especially among teens, immoderate volition support their fears to themselves, portion others volition fto them leak retired done little productive channels, specified arsenic erroneous societal media postings, headaches, stomachaches, oregon an inability to sleep,” Meyers says. “It’s cardinal for parents to play adjacent attraction to these signs of anxiousness and support the lines of connection open.”

5: Help your teen rethink FOMO

When teens spot Instagram stories featuring their friends partying and gathering successful ample groups close now, the fearfulness of missing retired -- oregon FOMO -- is real.

As a parent, you tin crook FOMO into thing beauteous amazing, Meyers says.

“Emphasize the virtuousness successful being safe,” helium says. “Try to assistance your teen find a mode to transportation this from a feeling of nonaccomplishment to a feeling of what we tin gain.”

An example, helium says, is that pursuing information protocols means not lone that we enactment healthy, but we support those we attraction about.

“We are collectively contributing to wellness of our community,” helium says. “That mightiness not dependable fun, but it’s precise important. Parents request to framework being considerate to others arsenic a genuine strength, not a anemic consolation prize.”