With something as scary and unpredictable as a global pandemic, we shouldn’t be surprised when kids have trouble processing it all. In a sense, we are all like children experiencing this for the first time. We are all likely dealing with fear we aren’t talking about.
One encouragement for us: God redeeming these otherwise dark days through families, who are sitting around the table together, laughing, sharing a meal, and relearning how to have a conversation. Parents are more focused on what matters most: God, and family.
Parents, pray to be present and wise. Address your children with honesty and simplicity, leaving out global markets, politics, and death statistics. Reassure them: it isn’t clear how long it will take, things are getting better, and you will be here to keep them safe.
Preservation and perseverance are two godly characteristics we should always model to our children. Adult Christians have been gifted with wisdom, developed through countless past deliverances. It is helpful for you to remember, meditate on, and share these past deliverances with your children, to help them begin their own accounting of God’s presence in their lives.
Mark McCormick is director of clinic operations for Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services. This column is excerpted from the June 1 issue of the Illinois Baptist newspaper.