3 Ways to Strengthen Your Bond With Your Children in a Post-Lockdown World

By Jody Bell

By Jody Bell

By the end of 2020, 70% of the American workforce was working from home.

While this major change in work habits proved to be difficult for many families, there were a few brightsides brought forth from this pandemic -- most notably, the time that many families spent together during lockdown.

For some families, it was the brief kitchen conversations while both you and the kids were on a lunch break. For others, it was the social deprivation and boredom that produced plenty of  gamenights, group movie sessions, and structured time together. Now that students return to their classes and parents begin to transition into the office, plenty of parents are already feeling the familial closeness shift away. 

This begs the question, what can you do to maintain a close relationship with your kids and retain the silver lining of the lockdown.

1. Respect Boundaries

It may be difficult to shift from family dinners every night, to having your child actively seek other plans/extracurriculars and spend even less time at home than they did pre-COVID. 

That being said, to maintain a healthy relationship with your child it is necessary to allow them to have the freedom to rebuild their life outside of the house. If they want to quit their sport and try a new one -- let them explore new interests. If they are part of a different group of friends -- let them explore these new relationships. As long as the behaviors your child is engaging in are safe, you must give them the space they need to explore their new post-COVID selves. 

2. Have Structured Time for Mental Health Check-ins

With the transition away from constant family life you might notice a shift regarding who your child confides in. 

This change may be uncomfortable for you as parents -- suddenly it feels as though you know much less about your child’s everyday life. While it is still important to respect boundaries, it is also important to maintain a certain closeness with your child to ensure they are managing this tremendous environmental shift in a healthy manner. 

We recommend having “mental check-ins” where you both plan time to discuss where you each are mentally -- what were some of your struggles and highlights in the past week, how have you reflected on this, and how will this shape your mentality in the future. Normalizing these conversations and ensuring that they are centered around every member of the family ensures that your child doesn’t feel targeted or defensive during these discussions. 

3. Unplug During Quality Time

During the lockdown, you may have noticed a blending of family time and work time. 

Working in the same location as where you spend time with your family has this result-- if you suddenly got an email during a family dinner, it didn’t seem wrong to briefly open your laptop and respond. 

For many families, this caused some major problems -- and the solution was removing phones, tablets, and laptops from designated family time. 

In a post-lockdown world families are physically separated to pursue their education and careers and it is even more crucial to give your undivided attention to your family when you are having structured time together. This tradition is a habit that should be retained as we return to normalcy. 

After a year of hardships on many fronts it may be difficult to reflect on the silver-linings that were produced during the pandemic. That being said, it is crucial to look for these highlights and to ensure you are instilling habits to maintain and retain them. 

Jody Bell, 19, is Girls With Impact’s Chief Editor and a program graduate. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, after-school, entrepreneurship program for teen girls, turning them into tomorrow’s business leaders and innovators.