Ever since the lockdown began, we have been filled with anxiety and worries. With all the negativity and panic in the environment, it can take a toll on our mental health. Rather than treating it as a period we have to endure, it is best to make full use of it, as it is no less than a golden opportunity in disguise — an opportunity to rekindle our friendships and bond with friends and family members. Parents can make full use of this period by engaging more with their children.
Trust, a small word, is of huge importance and one of the essential building blocks for strengthening a relationship with anyone. It simply means to believe in someone and have faith in them. In real world, children are not always surrounded by the presence of their family or loved ones, such as at schools.
In such situations, children experience both the negative and positive side of the world with their own eyes. This lockdown can be utilised to help children develop a circle of trust. This is no less than a long-term investment with the reward being a good and established safe circle where children can freely communicate with their parents without holding back their thoughts and fearing judgment.
Aiming to utilise this golden opportunity productively, parents can spend quality time with their children not only by playing games and cooking their favourite food, but also by engaging in activities to build a trust circle, thus helping children apply this in their lives outside their house among friends, teachers and new people they interact with.
Hence, it imparts an educational and important long-term effect on children regarding trust. Some of the games to impart this concept in mind are TrustFall, BuddyWalk, Pictionary and many more. It also facilitates improved communication, cooperation as well as team-building skills.
Activities like these don’t fall under any age restriction, so they can be played by children of any age — from an infant to an adolescent, or even adults. Trust cannot be instilled within an infant at once, it takes time and grows stronger as time passes by. For a child, this procedure should be consistent. With every passing year, children will be able to understand this concept based on their competence, which develops as they turn to become teens and then adults. Hence, reiteration of the concept of trust is an important key in building a close bond.
When children trust their parents, they find it more comfortable in sharing their thoughts and confiding in their parents, and reaching out to them when faced with a problem. This helps children not only think of their parents as parents, but as their friends keeping the best interests of their little ones.
The reality we live in is not fair to anyone. One person may experience extreme difficulties or hardships as compared to another. However, what we as an elder sibling or parent can do is to ensure that the child is never without a platform or a medium to share and confide in about something that could deeply haunt their mind.
Featured image has been provided by the author.