ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla — Many of our children are stressed out with going back to school amid the coronavirus pandemic. You may wonder what questions should you ask your children to find out how they're really doing and the state of their mental health.
“As parents, we often fall into the trap of, ‘How was your day?’ ‘Fine,’” Jeanine Hoff said.
Hoff has a Master's Degree in social work and is a mother of three children. She founded Where is the Sunshine, a non-profit organization for mental health awareness, advocacy and education. She says to ask your children age-appropriate questions.
“I would ask kids, especially older kids, ‘Is it stressful now? Is it different? How is it different?" Hoff said.
Talking to your children about wearing a mask at school and how it makes them feel is another way to get your children to open up about their mental health. It’s also important the type of questions you ask.
“Ask questions that are open-ended and something that will spark their interest, such as, ‘What was your favorite part of today? Did anything fun happen? Did anything exciting happen?" Hoff said.
“Also when you ask them, ‘What was good about your day?’ Also ask them, ‘What was difficult? What was a problem that you had?,’” said Ambria Page, a licensed clinical social worker at St. Augustine Youth Services.
Page says your children are more likely to feel comfortable opening up to you if you talk about the positive and negative parts of their lives.