4.
Social-emotional
It looks like your child may be experiencing a decline in their social-emotional health.Between school closures and drastic changes in how we interact with one another, the COVID-19 pandemic has left a negative impact on children. Now more than ever, children are experiencing prevalent signs of anxiety and depression due to lack of regular structures, decreased social engagement, and missed opportunies. Virtual classrooms and decreased peer interaction have caused an increase in children interrupting their peers, responding off-topic, or appearing disengaged during social communication due to uncertainty on how to appropriately respond. If we break down skills required for social communication, we realize it is quite extensive. Basic social communication requires turn-taking, staying on topic, and using appropriate facial gestures. Modeling appropriate social communication skills at home is a great start to transferring those abilities in the community! Set aside time each day to have a free-flowing conversation with your child while demonstrating the basics of interaction described above. Learn more about social-emotional health by visiting our blog articles tagged 'Social/Emotional'.