COVID Fatigue

As clinicians working with children, adolescents, and families, we are coming across a lot of parents with children declaring they are “sick of COVID”. This seems to be a common struggle for families. Despite being almost a year into COVID and social distancing, children have acclimated to these new safety guidelines and the intense protocol of Covid-19 and are newly frustrated. That  may well be because they have reached their personal limits of tolerance with this new system and way of life. Many adults may feel the same way!

Just like adults, children had to quickly adjust to virtual school, social distancing, mask-wearing, and limited in-person activities. It was a lot all at once! Even though it has been almost a year of social distancing and COVID safety guidelines, it is understandable that adults and children have lost their patience when it comes to COVID. Now that winter has settled in and brought colder temperatures, it makes our escapes from our homes even more difficult, especially for very young children. Since there is still uncertainty about when our lives will return to “normal,” we have created a list of ways of responding in a helpful manner to someone experiencing COVID-fatigue- especially children and adolescents:

• Validate their feelings

• Model appropriate ways to express difficult feelings

• Ask them if they want you to listen to their feelings or if they want you to help solve the problem

• Be as honest and open as appropriate on COVID updates

• Allow the child to be frustrated, sad, and/or annoyed that COVID is still present 

• As needed, seek out therapists to help you and your child express any frustrations or anxieties about COVID

And remember, this is a finite period of time in all of our lives. Remind yourselves and your children that we will get through this.