The University of Rhode Island\u2019s Department of Human Development and Family Science<\/a> is offering open remote support seminars via Webex for local parents with children between the ages of birth through five. <\/p>\n The seminars aim to address the many issues that arise for parents who now have to stay home with their children every day due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and give advice on how to handle the situation and not get overwhelmed during this especially stressful time.<\/p>\n The seminars are being held every Wednesday 8-9 p.m. throughout the month of April, and are hosted by Senior Lecturer and Academic Advisor Phyllis Penhallow<\/a>. The topics that have been covered so far include how to create a daily routine, parent\/child stress and anxiety, and talking to children about the crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good for parents to connect, it\u2019s good for them to feel like they\u2019re not alone,\u201d Penhallow said. \u201cIt\u2019s good for them because the issues they\u2019re having at home other people are having too.\u201d<\/p>\n Many other people have been involved in giving advice to parents, as well. Penhallow has brought in a URI Ph.D. student with a specialty in anxiety and working with parents, and a few senior HDF majors have been involved, as well.<\/p>\n Penhallow explained that she has opened up the opportunity to HDF seniors as an alternate way to help them earn the internship credit they need to graduate. After they participate in a seminar, they are also asked to complete a reflection assignment. The students\u2019 feedback on the seminars has been mostly positive so far.<\/p>\n \u201cThe things they said in their reflections were that it was so interesting for them to hear parent concerns,\u201d Penhallow said. \u201cThey have so much college experience and academic skill working with children, but they were surprised at some of the questions parents asked and how simple the solutions were.\u201d<\/p>\n In previous seminars, according to Penhallow, parents said they were having a harder time than usual getting their kids to listen to them. The facilitators\u2019 simple solution to this is called \u201cgrandma\u2019s rule,\u201d in which a parent tells a child that if they do the things they need to do first, they will get to do that they want. Penhallow used the example of wanting your child to brush your teeth when they want to read a book instead.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if you could only get the toothbrush in the hand and on one tooth, that\u2019s OK because your message is clear,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd of course, this is in the context of a loving, responsive parent-child relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n The facilitators have also addressed how to go about talking about the COVID-19 crisis with children. If children bring it up, Penhallow said parents should first have them look at the bright side by telling them how many people are trying to help and the resources they have. \u201cYou\u2019ve got police, you\u2019ve got doctors, you\u2019ve got nurses, you\u2019ve got neighbors, you\u2019ve got church, you\u2019ve got businesses,\u201d Penhallow said. \u201cSo really break it down for children, and then let them see \u2018Wow all of these people are helping.\u2019 And that\u2019s very comforting for young children.\u201d<\/p>\n The next thing parents should do is to ask the child what they heard about the crisis and where they heard it from, and then respond by simply answering their questions and clarifying any misinformation they may have without adding too much more to it.<\/p>\n \u201cAs adults, we tend to give children too much information and we end up scaring them and overwhelming them when they\u2019re actually just looking for very clear, concrete answers,\u201d Penhallow explained. <\/p>\n Other parents wanted to know how to create a daily household schedule. Penhallow advised against strictly limiting activities to the time on the clock, such as waking up at 8 a.m., doing a specific chore at 9 a.m., and moving on to something else right at 10. <\/p>\n \u201cWe say that with young children, birth through five, following a routine<\/em> is better,\u201d Penhallow said. A routine is simply doing tasks and finishing them in a certain order rather than focusing on time, she explained.<\/p>\n In terms of what to include in the routine, the facilitators suggested six activities per day that fall into each of these categories: mind (learning or reading), heart (cooperation, serving, something inspirational, etc.), body (exercising, stretching, dancing), creativity (arts, crafts or music), home (children help cook, clean, organize) and free play. These activities can be in any order the parent thinks would be best.<\/p>\n Parent stress was also a hot topic in recent seminars. \u201cParents that we could see on the video looked very tired,\u201d Penhallow said. \u201cAnd what we sensed was a delayed acceptance. Parents were wondering if this was going to happen, if they were goin g to be stuck at home, and then it happened. So it\u2019s almost like the reality of it all.\u201d <\/p>\n Penhallow has one more piece of advice: \u201cWe reminded the parents about enjoying their children at this time and trying not to think about all the things a parent has to do. You just want to incorporate the children the best you can.\u201d<\/p>\n To join a future parent support seminar, email pcpen@uri.edu<\/a> and the Webex invite will be sent to you. No RSVP necessary. The Department of Human Development and Family Science is part of the College of Health Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n