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Parenting tips: How to deal with your kids’ regressive behaviours during the quarantine

Parenting tips: How to deal with your kids’ regressive behaviours during the quarantine
Child psychologists suggest parents to be patient with kids who are regressing, as they’re already feeling extremely overwhelmed right now. @Shutterstock

Experts say regressive behaviours are a normal reaction to stress and there's no need to be worried about. But this is also not the time to discipline them. Here's how as a parent, you can help them cope with the stressful situation.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : May 14, 2020 9:38 AM IST

The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a serious toll on the mental health of people. The stressful environment is making many people to experience pandemic anxiety, including children. If you notice your child falling back on his/her old habits such as thumb-sucking, suddenly wetting the bed every night, or preferring old toys these could be signs of regression.

Experts say many kids are showing regressive behaviours as the quarantine period continues. Such behaviours aren't something to be worried about as experts say it's simply their way of deal with uncertainty and stress. Social isolation, too much indoor time, lack of physical activity, not being able to go to school, too much hygiene advises - all these can create a negative impact in the minds of children and cause anxiety and mental distress.

Regressive behaviours might be different from child to child and so it might be harder to spot and address the condition. While some older kids may suddenly start sucking their thump again, other may revert to babbling like babies. Throwing tantrums and clinging to parents could also be signs of regression.

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According to experts, regression is a normal reaction to stress and people of all ages tend to experience such behavioural shift, when faced with a crisis situation, like a pandemic. Reverting to old habits is a coping mechanism to deal with uncertainty and stress, they explained.

Tips to deal with your kids' regressive behaviours

Your kids may be consciously or unconsciously reverting to old behaviors, to get more attention from you or to gain control over their lives. But this is not the right time to discipline or scold them for their weird behaviors.

Child psychologists suggest parents to be patient with kids who are regressing, as they're already feeling extremely overwhelmed right now. They might be trying to express their emotions through their behaviors because they don't know how to tell it to you. This shows your child needs your support to cope with this challenging situation.

If you think your child is going through such tough phase, help them get through the problem. You can do this by reassuring them that you love them and telling them that you aren't mad at them for their regressive behaviours. Also, try to understand their feelings, before trying to fix their problem.

How to keep your kids physically and mentally healthy

As the structure of the school day gets disrupted due to the lockdown, children may feel upset and lost, which may affect both their physical and mental health. To ensure that your kids stay physically and mentally healthy during the quarantine, set a routine in their lives. Fix a regular mealtime and bedtime.

Kids may also reflect their parents' behaviour. For example, if you're more irritable at this time, it's possible that your child may react in a similar way. So, it's important that you maintain patience during this time. With the social media and media channels flooded with news about death and illnesses, your children might be hearing a lot of bad news these days. This can also affect their mental health. So, it is advisable that you limit the conversations about COVID-19 in front of the kids, and tell only things they should know.