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p>Before we start talking about summer camps, vacations or sports, or making plans to complete the numerous, many things at last that we've never been able to do, let's take a moment. Even the most fortunate children have suffered an event of mass death like this. A lot of adults have fallen short. They are acquainted with the chaos, and more than they're ever likely to reveal to you (or even know their own).

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p>Stop trying to re-live your life as you knew it

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p>Although we are just getting started with collecting data about the mental health effects of the pandemic on children, the most important indicators are alarming. From April through October of this year, mental health emergency cases for children aged 5-11 increased by 24 percent, according the Children's Hospital Association. Even in resource-rich places and even for children who haven't had a medical issue or died from the pandemic directly, school closures interfere with routines, restrict access to food, and correlate with rising levels of anxiety and stress among children.

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p>Research has shown that trauma in childhood, particularly if it is not addressed and treated properly, can cause long-term health issues. And even children who don't meet the standard clinical definition of experiencing "trauma," most of our children have had traumatizing experiences without doubt. Since the beginning of the pandemic experts have been planning for the impact of trauma on children. As parents, what are we going to do? What are we going to do next week? What can we do in the summer heat?

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p>Since I feel the urge, I worry that we'll try to fix something that isn't able to be fixed by overscheduling, planning and filling our days with the same things we avoided last year.

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p>Let your kids be children this summer. https://minecraft-server-list.space/ Let them breathe and find their own way, before you attempt to make up for the lost time.

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p>JUST WATCHED

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p>YouTube? A Psychologist sings to help children deal with stress

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p>Replay

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p>More Videos ...

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p>MUST BE AWARE

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p>Psychotherapist sings on YouTube? to help kids cope with stress 02:07

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p>Here's the reason I'm following my own suggestions. In December, when my family was at the lowest point I began to refer to children older than this year as "Gen C." Although I hope that it doesn't stick I'm noticing signs that my middle schoolers are experiencing burnout everywhere I look. They're sharper with their parents, less likely to listen (my son is not verbal and my daughter is hyper-verbal but both communicate quite effectively) they are arguing with their parents in ways that are new. But 16 months of constant focus on our families in our homes, as the world reeled, will do this. If we want to move our children out of Gen-C and back to the wild world of "zoomers," we're going have to be very deliberate about it.

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p>In the last month, there's been lot of writing about work culture and burnout. Charlie Warzel, co-author of a book about remote work and burnout, wrote an important piece in which he urged employers to offer employees the opportunity to take a "summer slowdown."

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p>Parents must slow down and give their children some time. Do not try to give your children all they want this year, including additional programming and schooling. Let them rest and grieve in the event of need. To feel anxious or uncertain. Make sure you create the space to ease the tensions of this year, to let trauma-related anxieties go, to watch for trouble spots where we might require more direct support.

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p>I'm 12 years old and here's why I got the Covid vaccination.

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p>I've had to accept that lost time is in fact lost. It's very difficult to comprehend that. Therefore, I'd like to let my children take it slowly. My daughter would like to learn to fence and how to use an axe. My son is interested in learning how to swim. She would like to play with Minecraft and they both want to do so using YouTube?.

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p>But not everything about our family's last year was so terrible. Even when we had to contend with fears and restrictions (and eventually, both my son and wife were diagnosed with Covid-19) We bonded as family. We went on more walks. We played more games. I bought a 1985 battered 12-foot aluminum boat (A Montgomery Ward "Sea King," though it's hardly a monarch's ride) I went fishing with my kids on the numerous lakes that line the Twin Cities' metro. My daughter was taught how to make her own pasta. My wife and I tried to protect our children from unnecessary anxiety while telling them what they needed to know at an age-appropriate level.

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p>Yet, kids can pick up on things which is why, even at the most difficult of times, this summer was not a vacation. The school year began, and so did the winter spike in infections.

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p>This summer will come to an end and we'll be able to get back to work. I remain as determined to fight for a fair education as I have always been as my son heads to high school and my daughter will hopefully start her first year at "normal" middle school, however that might mean. I am prepared to fight for access and distance education.

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p>But maybe if I can let my kids be themselves I may be able too, because they aren't the only ones to suffer the trauma of the last year and one-half years. If we have the time we all have a lot to recover from.

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