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As a parent or carer, it is not always easy to spot when our child is struggling, recognise what is a normal reaction or behaviour in these abnormal circumstances and when to look for professional help.
We have invited Tanya Byron, Chartered Clinical Psychologist specialising in working with children and adolescents to provide insights into how the pandemic has been affecting children and young people and what parents and carers can do to support them. Here is a recording of our conversation with Tanya.
How is the pandemic affecting children and young people?
Children’s and young people’s mental health has disproportionately been affected by the pandemic. Uncertainty, loneliness, anxiety and lack of control continue to affect the health and wellbeing of many young people. Remote schooling, an overload of screen time, limited access to the outdoors and lack of social face-to-face interactions with friends have also been taking their toll. Click on the links below to find out more about:
- Groups disproportionally impacted by Covid: click here
- What is normal and what can be a sign of a mental health problem: click here
- How to support children and young people when they are struggling: click here
- Supporting children and young people struggling with anxiety or depression: click here
- Additional advice for young people with exams or workload pressures and anxieties: click here
Additional resources
- Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people: Advice and ideas to support children of key worker parents and carers. A clinical psychologist helps parents talk to their children about COVID and related issues.
- Balancing home schooling and work: Great advice, tips and links for working parents.
- Staying fit with your kids: Advice and apps for parents and carers working from home, including exercise videos and tips for children, young people and adults with disabilities.
- Five ways to wellbeing: Ideas and advice on what to do to boost wellbeing and improve mood for teenagers.
- Home schooling resources and activity ideas for children and young people from pre-school through to GCSE including special needs and in multiple languages are available on Twinkle.co.uk. Covering core subjects, topical issues, screen-free activities, visual timetables and health and wellbeing advice, these resources can also be filtered by specific terms and topics like ‘wellbeing’. There are also plenty of free learning resources on BBC Bitesize Learning.
Apps you may want to download
- Bubble: Find childcare now. An app for parents to connect with trusted sitters, often medical and healthcare students volunteering their help
- Cityparents: Free app full of carefully curated online programme of webinars, advice and online resources covers a range of wellbeing, parenting and work/career topics
- Calm App and website. Some free bedtime stories and mindfulness sessions to help your children stay calm.
- Headspace App and website.Free to NHS staff with access to various resources and mindfulness recordings for adults and children.