Being there for your kids - Handling the Pandemic, Vaccination, Severe Illness

Episode Date: February 13, 2021

Two letters I selected typify extremes of the spectrum. In the first, parents want to get back to their lives after being vaccinated. In the second, a little boy is devastated when his best friend is hospitalized. Being creative but cautious is the theme in each of these letters. While we can't let COVID-19 control our lives, we do need to take every precaution.

Hi, I'm Dr. John Robinson, and this is Teachable Moments. I have two more letters for you today. These two are more from parents who are struggling with their response to the pandemic. Dear Dr. Robinson, free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last. Although I do believe that Black Lives Matter, my freedom comes from my wife and I getting our first COVID-19 vaccination shots. We are elderly, well, not so elderly, grandparents, and haven't seen our six grandchildren or their parents for coming up on a year now.

We've been very careful and neither one of us has contracted the coronavirus, hand sanitizer, social distancing, double masking, no inside activities. While all of this diligence has probably saved our lives and the lives of our loved ones, we're still going bonkers. With getting our vaccinations, I now want to let loose. See everyone, travel, go back to movies, make up. for our lost year. My wife, however, ever the cautious one, wants to wait and see. What's with that? Haven't we done enough of that already? Signed, Rerin to go. Dear RTG, I hear you. This past year has been a mess for all of us, and we get no reward for going by the rules and playing it safe. What a bummer! Unfair! And yet, you know that your wife is right. While the numbers are on the downside, most any event has the potential. of being a super spreader. Letting lose too early or without the safeguards just because you

were building immunity with the vaccine could come back to bite you. At your ages, you want to make the most of all the time you have left. Here are some thoughts. First, keep steady with all of the safeguards. If you want to visit others, make sure that all involved have already been vaccinated. Keep on with your hand sanitizer, social distancing, elbow bumps, and double masking. Second, watch the numbers. Follow the advice of the experts. I know that be patient is cliche, but you don't want tragedy to happen to you or to your loved ones. Third, as the numbers keep improving, talk together about planning trips that have been put off, friends that you haven't had over, entertainment and dining out that you have foregone during the pandemic. Planning always

evokes hopefulness and hopefulness lifts the spirit. Continue to be cautious and look forward to not now, but soon. Blessings, Dr. John. Here's another letter. Dear Dr. Robinson, my eight-year-old son, Mason, has been best friends with Joey forever. They are always at each other's house, playing, horsing around, just having fun. They are in the same grade in school. We just about have adopted Joey, and Joey's parents have adopted our Mason. Recently, Joey's mom told me that he has contracted multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. That's what they call M-I-S-Dash. This is freaking my husband and me out, especially in that Joey's parents are our best friends as well. They just took him to the hospital, and we don't know how long his treatment will be, or even if he will survive.

Poor baby, he's only eight years old. So, Mason knows his father and I are upset about all this. He's laying low, but also trying to be helpful. Of course, he has no concept of how deadly this MC can be, and he just wants to be with Joey and make him better. How in the world do I help him and us get through this? Signed, Frazzled. Dear Frazzled, wow, it's one thing to be careful and mindful during the pandemic. It's quite another when the whole deadliness of it all hits so close to home.

I'm really sorry you folks and Mason are having to deal with all of this so personally. It sounds like you folks are raising a great kid. Also, Mason seems to be a great friend to Joey. After talking to each other, sit him down to let him know about Joey. condition in detail that his age will understand. Afterward, ask if he has any questions about all of it. Use your active listening with tears and hugs to hear his feelings and his questions. While visiting Joey in the hospital is out of the question,

brainstorm other ways that Mason and Joey could connect until, or unless his health declines, they can, of course, zoom and FaceTime together. Joy may not feel like doing much, so help Mason put together a personalized get-well card, maybe having their teacher and all of their classmates sign it. Encourage Mason to draw Joey a picture, maybe of something that Joey loves or that he and Mason have enjoyed together. Keep in touch with Joey's parents, spearhead a round of casseroles or other meals

so that they can keep their focus on Joey and on his recovery. Lots of face time and zooming all around. All of you will stay in my thoughts and prayers. Be safe and use all of the mitigations. Blessings, Dr. John. If these letters stir questions of your own, contact me through my website at www. ThereformyKids.com or email me at John Robinson 0.0.BelSouth.net. I'm Dr. Jonathan C. Robinson, licensed clinical psychologist and author of Teachable Moments, Building Blocks of Christian Parenting.

And this has been Teachable Moments. Teachable Moments, Building Blocks of Christian Parenting is available online at AmazonBooks.com and in local and national bookstores. More on Dr. Robinson at TMCP-I-N-C.com.