Originally Posted by
basil
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My son, on the other hand, is having a super rough time. He is really depressed and it is just so hard for him. I've written before that he's the extrovert, but always before a very happy kid. The kind of kid who high fives everyone on the team, who cheers the loudest, who plays the hardest. Even before COVID, a playdate would be a highlight of the month.
And now...he is just different. He doesn't want to do anything, except play computer games/watch TV. Like a lot of people, we have liberalized screen time, so he gets a good several hours a day, even beyond the school work. But no matter how much he's played, asking him to step away is promptly met with a tantrum of slamming doors and tears. Asking him to do any school work or chores is worse.
He doesn't want do things he used to enjoy. He doesn't want to go outside (it's either too hot or too cold), doesn't want to play on the playset, doesn't want to ride his bike. We bought them an electric scooter that he tried once or twice and now he doesn't like that either. He doesn't want to play soccer with DH in the yard. Doesn't want to practice playing baseball (he used to do this for HOURS). I downloaded Pokemon Go to try to draw him out a bit more but now he doesn't like that either.
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I don't think he is particularly anxious about coronavirus. He is just depressed and feels like he has nothing to look forward to. All my efforts to give him something to look forward to seem to fall flat. I don't have a real honest answer for him when he asks when he can see his friends again. I don't even have an answer as to when he can see his cousins again.
We signed him up for camps in February, but I have no idea if they'll run or not.
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Anyone else out there with struggling kids?
Yes, this is DD.
She has acted out, refused activities she previously enjoyed, has to be bribed to do even the bare minimum family activity, regressed in some ways, and copped an attitude about EVERYTHING.
She misses her classmates.
She misses her cousins.
She misses her grandparents.
She's sick of us.
She does have tendencies toward anxiety, but no official diagnosis.
We have asked for weekly sessions with the school counselor to work on/maintain the social skills and cues she's gained over the past year, paltry as they may be, because she's just too excited to see her classmates and troop members during video chats to remember that she's not the only person who's missing in-person interactions.
I am hopeful that in-person summer camps will happen, as it's my understanding from the Director of Outdoor Activities & Camps at Council that they will do everything they possibly can to open in time for the first session, although DH has been very anxious about sending her on the bus.
She will ride her bike, but we have to negotiate for every lap around the cul-de-sac ... it's really the worst.
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Liz
DD (3/2010)
"Make mistakes! Get messy!" - Miss Frizzle