Relationships are at the center of everything we do and can often make or break how we view different situations. When we talk about relationships, we tend to only think about them in the sense of a significant other, however relationships truly encompass everyone we interact with on our day-to-day life. Whether that be your partner, family members, student to teacher, parent to child, friendships or coworkers, we interact with dozens of individuals every day and we our “new normal” it has become increasingly difficult to manage all of these relationships without having screen fatigue or without feeling an even increased level of loneliness when you finish. While we try and navigate this new territory, we also must make sure we are doing it in a healthy way. I gathered some of my favorite tips and tricks from the One Love Foundation to help us maintain and grow all our relationships while keeping each other safe during social distancing and quarantine.
1. Find creative ways to keep in touch with your friends and family: Learning online all day, I am sure the last thing anyone ones to do is Facetime or Zoom your friends after school. Try playing digital games together, using different apps and group chats to have “movie nights” or, my personal favorite, go old school and start writing letters.
2. Create and Follow New Routines: Working and learning from home was fun for everyone for a week or so, but now it has become more of a chore for everyone. To help avoid conflict and help stay on task, sit down with the members of your household and create a schedule and a routine together. Kids, this helps you stay on top of your schoolwork and allows you to find your own time and space to get things done. Parents, this allows for your children to feel involved in the decision making and will hopefully alleviate some of the morning stress of figuring out who is working where.
3. Respect Digital Boundaries: This means for yourself and others! When we were physically going to school and work everyday it was much easier to separate work and home life. Now that all the lines are blurred it becomes much harder to “sign off” at the end of the night. This can also become a problem when connecting with friends and others. It is important to remember just because we are “home” does not mean we need to be constantly available to others needs. Make sure you are taking time for yourself. If that means walking away from your phone, spending time with your pets or signing off completely, do what feels best for you!
4. Healthy Conflicts: Spending more time than usual with the same people every day, conflict is unavoidable. Remember, conflict is OK, if it is healthy! The difference between healthy vs. unhealthy can be found in the delivery of the conflict and the outcome of the conflict. Healthy conflict looks like, a discussion, where everyone gets a chance to say their piece and opinions and values are respected. Unhealthy conflict looks like, yelling, name calling, door slamming and pouting. The outcome of unhealthy conflict looks like someone being upset and no real resolution. The outcome of a healthy conflict looks like both people making sacrifices, feeling they their feelings are valid and a new plan in place to make sure everyone’s needs are being met.
5. Ask for Help: If you are struggling with an unhealthy relationship during this time, remember you can always go to a trusted adult. That can be your teacher, your case manager, a family member or a friend. Parents, if you see your child struggling to connect, contact their teacher, a child study team member or guidance counselor. We are all in this together and always have your child’s best interest at heart.
Check out www.joinonelove.org for more resources!
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