Parenting Through Covid-19
ESSEX, CHESTER, DEEP RIVER, CT — Being part of the solution is Cognitive Psychologist, Dr. Alicia Farrell’s main goal. To that end, she has developed a series of four parenting webinars she is offering to the community for free. Each webinar addresses a specific problem or stress that is currently plaguing our children and families due to Covid-19 and beyond.
"It's breaking my heart. We have to sort this out. Life has been coming at us for quite some time -pre-Covid, Covid and likely, post-Covid. But you know who is suffering most? Our Children," said Farrell. “I decided to do these webinars because I was seeing an overwhelming number of parents, struggling to parent right now and kids struggling to grow up.”
She added, “I wanted to make these webinars available to as many people as possible and give as many people as possible, boots on the ground parenting guidance, to help us all get through this.”
Farrell’s professionally developed, one and a half-hour-long webinars are designed to help parents, help their children.
“My goal is to have everyone walk away from these webinars with essential knowledge and practical tools around the following topics: Stress, Anxiety and Perfectionism: How to recognize it in your children and what to do about it; Technology: How it is affecting our children and what to do about it; Parenting: How to communicate, set boundaries, place age-appropriate expectations and allow for natural consequences at any age; Drugs and Alcohol with a focus on Marijuana: How to talk to your kids about the facts, the fiction and their future,” said Farrell, who pointed out that kids right now have very few coping mechanisms to deal with the stresses that Covid-19 has brought on for them and one of their best ways to deal with stress is to be with their peers, socialize and explore themselves, but that is not an option right now.
“We want our children to know how to relate to the world, problem solve and think critically,” said Farrell. “Right now, for the most part, kids are not thriving and parents are struggling, asking ‘what do I do?’. Parents and kids are doing their best, but households are very emotionally intense right now. Covid has put everything on steroids.”
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Farrell who is based in Old Saybrook, said that some good she has seen come out of the pandemic is the fact that parents are realizing that their children are more capable than they thought and that kids have grit and resilience and can deal with change. They can handle situations like this and they are strong and independent.
"It's very difficult for parents to tolerate their children's discomfort, but unfortunately during this time, parents can't fix the problems of Covid for their kids and that's hard for them to handle," explained Farrell with compassion.
Each of the four webinars is open to anyone who wishes to join. They will be held via Zoom and recorded so people can listen to them whenever if they are unable to be on the meeting live. You can sign up for one or all of them. Farrell feels they are relevant for parents with children of any age, teachers, administrators, counselors, community leaders and anyone who wants to learn more.
“I hope people take the time to join me, it will be time well spent, I promise,” said Farrell.
The webinars will take place on the following dates. Please pre-register.
The Pressure to be Perfect and Its Unintended Consequences – Register here.
Wednesday, February 3, 2021, 7-8:30 pm
Weeding out Fact from Fiction: Marijuana, Alcohol, Nicotine & More – Register here.
Wednesday, February 10, 2021, 7-8:30pm
The Negative Influences of Screen-Time and Content on Children’s Development and What We Can Do About It – Register here.
Wednesday, February 17, 2021, 7-8:30pm
Boots on the Ground Parenting: Raising Children with Grit and Resilience – Register here.
Wednesday, February 24, 2021, 7-8:30pm
For more information go to https://aliciafarrellphd.com/.
This article originally appeared on the Essex-Chester-Deep River Patch
