How Kids Could Use Art to Express Their Feelings About COVID-19

While we go through adjustments on how to work from home and balance teaching our kids as they learn from their computer screens, let us not forget that our young ones are going through the same adjustments, too. However, they don't exactly know how to tell us this, which gives us more reason to be actively there for them. This article will give you some tips on supporting your children and helping them express themselves, their feelings, or even expressing emotions through art, especially during this pandemic. 

The pandemic brought such intense feelings to our children, such as anxiety, tension, and confusion. Every other child struggles in handling such emotions, mostly if your child has been left out from outdoor activities because of the pandemic, they now need to feel loved and protected the most. 

Although some kids return to their regular routines after receiving support and help from their attentive parents, some children tend to risk developing major mental health issues, including stress due to trauma because of pandemic, anxiety, and depression brought by its restrictions. 

Those children with high risk for emotional disturbances deal with past trauma or pre-existing mental, physical or developmental disabilities, and those whose parents struggle with mental health conditions, drug abuse, or economic instability.

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So parents need to keep minding the emotional status of their children. Children are given caring, healthy, trusting environments throughout their lives and build safe, secure, and loving relationships with others, especially in a pandemic time. 

Exposing your children to create art helps them convey their emotions and feelings. It allows them to talk about whatever possibilities they feel or fear, see different kinds of situations, construct new events, know the news that can open up new ways of interacting and displaying resilience in their relationships among families and environments. Thus, it is important to aid your children in expressing emotions through art.

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Tips to Help You Help Your Child Express Their Emotions Through Art

• Give your child an open space and explore anything by providing them papers, crayons, and other artwork materials that can help them create what they ought to present.
• Give your child paper and pen and write whatever they want to say to any person close to them that is apart from them because of a pandemic.
• If your child likes to paint, provide him painting materials such as canvass, brush, and colors. Ask your child to paint whatever he is feeling about the pandemic at the moment. If your child paints a monster like an image, ask your child while she thinks pandemic is a monster and starts a conversation.
• It is crucial you dont pressure your child in making art for him to express. Just leave your child, give him what he needs and let her speak on her own.
•  After they're done and they show you their task, provide constructive feedback. Note, this is the manifestation of thoughts and how they see the world and themselves.
• As parents, you must be open. Art is the most beautiful way for your child to express emotions and love with each other and to share them. It can be an enjoyable experience to create together, which builds trust and acceptance.

READ MORE: Report: CDC's School Reopening Guidelines Could Keep 90% of Schools Partially Closed

"When you're creating art, whether it's writing in a journal, singing, or making a card, you're getting into what's called a 'flow state'," psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi said.

Csikszentmihalyi is one of the cofounders of Positive Psychology, and he also describes that the flow of art is the period of optimal attention for children. 

Once your child starts to create art, you can keep the momentum throughout this time and help them concentrate on their job at hand. They will likely care less about the time, the feelings of the body, or any other needs.