Extraordinary Rides

Helping Kids Deal with Crisis Children need to be reassured with both words and touch

By Pastor David Bowen, Standing Stones Community Church Standing Stones Christian Academy

When will we be able to play with our friends? When will mommy or daddy be able to go back to work? Why can’t we go to a restaurant? Why do I have to do school at home? Lots of questions with no answers—yet.

I know many adults having a hard time dealing with the conditions surrounding daily life. I know many adults who are frustrated after working so hard to save some money, after sacrificing to plan for a special event, after landing that job only to be told you are being laid off. To see one’s savings disappear, to wonder if that wedding venue will still be available in six months, wondering when you will be allowed to visit a hospitalized relative. For adults, each of those scenarios on their own can produce a great deal of stress, but adding multiple situations to our daily life is even harder.

Today is a day like no other. Families around the globe are trying their best to deal with the circumstances we find ourselves in, and at the same time trying to help their children understand why we can no longer go play at the park or why so many grocery store shelves are empty. Hearing that the school year was over probably produced a round of cheers, until the reality of why they will not be attending class sets in.

What do families do? If adults feel helpless in addressing certain situations, how do children feel? How do the kids communicate? Especially younger children who cannot verbalize their feelings. Fear is a real emotion, but it can be dealt with, so it should not be ignored. Every child is unique in how he or she responds to frightening events. Some children may become quieter or withdrawn; others may want to express compassion and want to do something to help others.

When kids are personally affected or exposed to traumatic circumstances, it’s important to protect their emotional wellbeing as much as caring for their physical safety. Limiting exposure to news is important. We do not rely on the media to give our kids information on world events. The news media purposefully displays sounds and images that are the worst of the worst. These clips are often too vivid, especially for children who cannot distinguish between the abstract and concrete.

I have found in explaining the situation, whether it be an earthquake that took place on the other side of the world or a local event where someone was seriously hurt, when we talk about it’s best to control the way the situation(s) is described. It’s important to clarify any confusion and give honest answers, so I ask for and welcome their questions. Once they have as clear an understanding as they can, we spend time praying for the people hurt by the earthquake or the family that just suffered a terrible loss. It brings peace and comfort to a situation that is anything but.

I am hoping families do their best to create and communicate an atmosphere of hope and safety. Because children may feel vulnerable and overwhelmed, it’s important to restore their sense of security. One blessing in the shelter-at-home edict is the ability to spend extra time together as a family, which is often a refuge to kids in times of uncertainty.

During these times, adults and especially children need to be reassured with both words and touch. Hang in there, better days are ahead.

Stay-at-Home Crafts Three projects to do with simple items around the kitchen By Shannon Fisher

Arizona was placed on a stay-at-home order on March 30 due to COVID-19.

It has been a little over a month of home quarantine, and I was thinking of things we can do with items already in our home. I have not even been going to my favorite dollar store! Here are crafty bits you can make with items you already own.

Because we are staying safe at home, we have not been doing some of our favorite things. We decided to write down things we felt like doing but could not. After the stayat-home order is lifted, we will have a list of activities to do. Some examples are seeing our favorite people, ice skating, eating in our favorite restaurants, going to the beach and watching movies at the cinema. You can put your ideas on strips of paper, craft sticks or just on a notepad to keep a running list of what you look forward to doing soon.

Another quarantine craft is sending a secret message to someone in your house or elsewhere. Start with a white paper. Using lemon juice and a Q-tip, you can write a message. Dip the Q-tip in lemon juice to use it as a pen to write. Allow it to dry, and you can roll the message up to put it in the bottle and deliver it as a secret message. If you do not have a bottle, just slip it under someone’s door in your house. Leave instructions to view the

message over a heat source like a light bulb, lighter, iron with no steam, or blow dryer. Make sure they know to have a parent around, because paper can catch fire easily. Enjoy your secret message!

The last easy home activity is making a sugar scrub for dry hands. I know my hands are dry from washing them so many times a day. We used coconut oil and sugar, but you can use any oil you have at home. Mix together half oil and half sugar and you have an easy way to moisturize your skin. You can store it in a mason jar or anything with a lid. If you do not have something like that, you can even store in a Ziploc bag. I hope this helps your dry skin!

I hope you are all staying home, staying safe and enjoying home crafting.

Shannon Fisher is a local wife, mom of two girls and owner of Shannon Fisher Photography. She taught high school and elementary art before opening her photography business.