Over the past weeks I have been asking myself a few questions about the impact of this current pandemic on my teenage daughters. As their Mum, my immediate reaction is to want to downplay the situation (if that’s possible), to smooth their paths, t protect and keep things as normal as possible.

Then I realised, I am looking at it all from my perspective, and thinking I need to protect them from what I see, when in fact their perspective is perhaps very different.

I see the broad impact on the economy, the health service buckling, deaths, risk and impact on business, income and lifestyle. All the negative nightly stuff.

They of course are aware of all of this, but it is set within the context of their lived experience and developmental stage. And so, I find myself asking:

* What does this experience look like from their perspective and life view?* What do they need/want to know about what is happening and what do they not?* How can we best support them in a way that matches their needs, not ours.

If you are wondering about the same things, then this conversation will give you some ideas for how to approach and manage this experience within your family.

Carolyn Parse Rizzo is a coach and a Certified Child Life Specialist. This means she has worked with tweens, teens and young adults in a hospital and educational setting, helping them to make meaningful connections, positive choices and create coping strategies in a developmentally appropriate way. In the hospital setting, Carolyn has helped prepare children of all ages and their parents for surgical experiences.

The profession of a child life specialist started in a medical setting but can be transferred to help children, tweens, teens and family’s times of any stressful or traumatic life event or situation.

So, it translates well in our current situation with Covid-19 pandemic. In this conversation Carolyn and I talk about:

* The different developmental stages of children, tweens and teens and the impact this has on their need and ability to understand challenging situations.* The four different coping styles and how they are expressed.* How understanding our own, and our children’s coping styles helps us to interact in the most appropriate and effective way.

Download the Show Notes from HERE

Other Related Podcasts:

* Calming Troubled Water: Strategies to Help Parents Support Their Children in Troubled Times: Episode 5: Elizabeth Gillies HERE* Supporting Children Through Educational Disruption: Episode 1 Fabienne Vailes HERE* Finding Our New Balance in Uncertain Times: Episode 9 Daniela Tomer HERE

About Carolyn Parse Rizzo

Carolyn is an ICF-Certified Coach and Yoga Teacher, as well as a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS).