This global pandemic has had a profound effect on the entire world, in every industry, across all demographics. Parents of teens who, as a result of COVID-19, have been on lockdown since March may be concerned about their high school's reopening. They also may be concerned about how current events might be affecting their teenager's mental health.
Families are now tasked with making important schooling decisions in the coming days and weeks. More important, they also may be looking for ways to provide their teen with the support needed to maintain their mental health.
What high school reopening might look like this year|What high school reopening might look like this year
Encourage teens to maintain friendships while social distancing
Whether your child returns to a regular classroom or continues online learning, socializing with their friends during the school year will continue to look very different. Get-togethers, clubs, and parties will most likely be on hold. But it's still important for teens to keep up friendships and maintain social contacts.
Socializing while social distancing for teens can be done. Virtual book clubs, online Zoom meetups, watching movies with the Netflix Party app, and playing popular games like Animal Crossing with their friends online are easy ways to remain social while staying safe.
This is uncharted territory for everyone, and parents are trying to figure out how to let teens socialize safely. This is true even for families who homeschooled prior to the pandemic. Traditional homeschooling families, for years, have been taken to task on the subject of socialization, but homeschoolers would usually spend quite a bit of time out in the community on a regular basis, prior to COVID-19.
No matter which type of schooling option they choose, socialization is possible. It just may take some out-of-the-box thinking to ensure your teenager's mental health and safety.
Getting through to a teen who won't practice social distancing
Stressing the importance of social distancing to teens can pose a problem for some parents. In this often naturally rebellious stage, they may intentionally try to assert their independence by violating any house rules parents have put in place. It may be especially difficult to convince teens who are naturally social to adhere to social distancing guidelines, and this may be compounded if they have friends and classmates who are being allowed to gather and socialize by parents who are not enforcing rules.
Touting facts and figures from the CDC likely won’t resonate with your teen, so consider meeting your child where they are: on TikTok. Content creators like thenavarose and Zoe Laverne are popular with teens and promote mask wearing and social distancing. nabela chronicles her battle with and recovery from COVID-19, and the #ownthecurve and #stayathome hashtag campaigns encouraged followers to practice physical distancing. Even scientist Bill Nye posted a popular video on the science behind the benefits of mask wearing.
Apart from that, modeling the behavior you expect from your teens is key. You likely don’t text and drive because you want to make sure your kids won’t. Similarly, practicing social distancing yourself sends the message that it’s important to you. Keeping the lines of communication open is also important. Talk with your teen to see if you can agree on acceptable socially distant activities they can do virtually with their friends or by themselves.
