Helping Your Child Connect with Friends During the Pandemic

Encouraging our children to socialise is a key part of their overall development. It can help them become more confident and allow them to develop their sense of self, but unfortunately social interactions must be kept to a minimum during the global pandemic. With that said, parents need to find other ways to help their children connect with their friends at this time, as explored below by a junior school in Blackpool. 

There are so many options when it comes to video calling (Zoom, Skype, Facetime etc.) that you shouldn’t have a problem getting this set up. If they find it awkward and don’t chat as much as you’d hoped, maybe you could set up some sort of quiz or game for them to play, where they win a prize at the end. 

Netflix Party is a new system that allows people to watch movies with their friends. It involves a monthly subscription but essentially it will allow your child and their friends to synchronise the video playback and message one another in the group chat to discuss the film. 

Letters 

Encourage your child to work on their written communication skills by going old school and writing letters to their friends. Teach them how to write an envelope and work on their handwriting. They’ll probably find it really exciting waiting for a reply in the post and they can keep the letters to reminisce on when they’re older. 

There are lots of apps you can download onto a tablet or smartphone that allow social interaction, like Roblox, for example. While you may not want your child to spend extended periods of time playing on their technological devices, it will help them stay connected and socialise. Keep an eye on their screen time and be sure to balance it out with other activities. 

Now that schools have reopened, socialisation for children isn’t as big an issue, but many parents are wary of letting their children play with their friends outside of school hours. With that said, the above ideas might be a good way for you to counteract this problem and keep your child’s spirits high during this challenging time.