This was stated by the ULS academic, Dr. in Psychology and PostDoctorate in Childhood and Family Studies, when asked about the scenario that Chilean families are facing in the preventive quarantine and health crisis that affects the country.
It has been almost two weeks since preventive quarantine was decreed for all people living in Chilean territory, and it has not been easy for anyone. Many have had to continue working despite the recommendations not to leave home, and others have had to adapt to a new teleworking scenario, which entails sharing spaces with family issues, children, tasks and even pets.
It is for this reason that psychologists recommend a new order to this abnormal life situation. To do this, we spoke with the academic and researcher of the Department of Psychology of the University of La Serena, Dr. Pablo Castro, who clears up doubts regarding what parents and the family group in general should do, in this situation of quarantine and confinement. social.
For the above, the expert recommended that “We must keep in mind that it is natural and normal that we are prone to losing our cool these days. We should not consider it as a psychological problem, but because the situation is abnormal, therefore, it is normal for certain conflicts to arise. It is important that everyone in their family group recognizes and thinks about what simple things give them calm; there are small actions that are favorable for this moment we are experiencing. People have ways, but we often forget them and now is the time to remember them to use them these days.”
With respect to children, he maintained that "We must be careful that they do not realize that we lose our calm, in this way we transmit tranquility, children are receptive to changes and perceive very well when an adult is tense. We must be especially careful with television and radio "Although it serves to inform us, it also serves to internalize tension."
The psychologist added that “We must always remind parents that it is also important to properly manage discipline and limits in periods of this type, we must reinforce positive discipline, that we must avoid yelling at children and that any type of authoritarianism is not good. , but of rules and order. In our Latin American culture it must be reinforced a lot because unfortunately there are still situations of verbal, psychological and physical abuse, and there are also other extremes, believing that unlimited freedoms are the best way to raise children, which is not truly the case. Today, in the scenario we are in, we require intelligence and balance.”
For the childhood and family expert, it is important to address the issue of technology, as a means that can help adults keep their children in extracurricular activities. However, there are apprehensions that must be considered when using them, such as, "It can be recommended to make new rules at home, it does not have to be the same order that is carried out when we are in normal times, it can be made more flexible, but it is advisable to have an order, which is at certain times and not all day . "You can prolong the use of technologies and video games, but don't make the mistake of leaving them playing the game all day, because that is also harmful."
An important aspect, he adds, is “Take into account the age and characteristics of the children, because those who suffer from hyperactivity or those who have attention deficit, it is not always good to keep them in these games. Neurologists recommend that children turn off all types of screens two hours before bedtime. But of course, modifying the rules and making the rules clear would favor the distraction of the little ones.”
resilience
A concept that is addressed a lot in times of crisis is resilience and this, according to its definition, is the ability of human beings to adapt positively to adverse situations. But the question is what happens to the children? And the expert tells us that this is also present in children and develops depending on how parents approach crisis scenarios.
“Resilience is an ability to face adverse situations, and in that sense we must be optimistic that this will develop in children, that is, what is happening to us will contribute to children developing this ability to face; This is also accompanied by children recognizing feelings, such as fear, sadness, and it is recommended that parents not neutralize these feelings but rather talk about them. In this sense, the Inter-American Society of Psychology, where specialists work in catastrophe situations with children, suggests that we attend to children's concerns, not deny adequate information and somehow convey to them that this will help us face situations and be stronger", explains Dr. Castro.
According to the ULS academic, social confinement and preventive quarantine “It will mean that in the future, these children will have tools that until today they did not have. It is a call to be optimistic about this, knowing that it is not a desirable situation (...) In general, these situations that occur to an entire society impact the development of children, but that does not mean that it is in a negative way, it can be in a negative way. totally positive way.”
The same thing happens with parents who must stop seeing their children due to this situation. Parents will have to agree on what is most favorable for the little ones, knowing that it is difficult for everyone.
Written by Patricia Castro, DirCom
