Adapting to Another “New Normal” – COVID-19

In a time of global panic and fear, you have an opportunity to teach your children resilience. And sometimes, resilience looks like giving them age-appropriate information in a calm manner and helping them to express their emotions. 

Your children just experienced their world shift 180 degrees in a matter of 48 hours. The routine they’ve worked so hard to keep with their teachers, the gold stickers for a prize they have almost earned, the recess with their friends to burn off all of their extra energy was just swept out from under them. 

For you, too, this shifted your whole life dramatically. Now you’re home with your little ones and trying to figure out new common core math and how to keep your head on straight to balance teaching, the house, the economic shifts, and limiting exposure as much as possible. Throw diabetes on top of that and you’ve got even more skin in the game than most people during these outbreaks. 

Whew! That’s a lot of change in a short time. 

Take a second and take a deep breath in – okay, hold it for ten seconds. Deep breath out. Repeat as necessary. 

This unexpected time at home is a good time to re-prioritize and be flexible to your needs. And to take a second to check in with yourself – how are you handling this? What do you need to navigate this lifestyle shift the best you can? 

The more you check in with yourself to be realistic about where you’re at, the better equipped you’ll be to navigate your children through this. They’re watching how you react to know how to handle this emotionally. If you’re panicking, so will they. 

This doesn’t mean you can’t experience stress or fear – just try to limit how often you’re expressing this in front of them. Take the breaks you need to get yourself together and get back into it when you’re ready. 

Humanity is resilient. As those of you with diabetes or who have children with diabetes know, you’ve encountered bigger waves than this. We’ll make it through together, as we all do our part to keep each other safe. The sunshine will come, and we’ll be having potlucks and gatherings again soon enough. For now, we thank you for doing your part by limiting exposure and practicing social distancing for your sake and for others. 

Over the next few weeks at the DFM, we’ll be gathering and sharing resources in a variety of topics to help you navigate these waters. Some things we’ll cover are homeschooling (one of our staff was homeschooled for a few years and has some tips!), advice for handling your child’s emotions and yours, resources, managing diabetes through this, exercise and nutritional information as you’re doing your part for public safety at home. 

We’re here with you and for you; however we can best be of service, or if there is a topic you particularly would like information on, shoot us a message! 

Wash your hands and stay healthy! 

The DFM Staff