Mental health tips for kids and parents during COVID-19

For many of us, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a fluid environment that has forced us to adapt to countless changes in many areas of our lives – school, work, activities and socialization, to name a few. In this roundup, mental health experts from CHOC offer their go-to mental health tips during COVID for family members of all ages.

Idea: Track your G-R-A-P-E-S

Submitted by: Dr. Francesca Bahn, pediatric psychologist

I like to use G-R-A-P-E-S tracking calendars to help with mood stability and management that doesn’t require intensive therapy. This stands for:

G — Gentle to self
R — Relaxation
A — Accomplishment
P — Pleasure
E — Exercise
S — Socialization

Kids can create a calendar or download one online that tracks days of the week on one axis and each “grape” along the other axis. They should place a sticker in each box when they engage in that activity for the day.

Idea: Look for ways to stay kind, created and connected during COVID-19

Submitted by: Dr. Adrianne Alpern, pediatric psychologist

Kids for Peace is a non-profit organization that works to create peace through service, global friendships and acts of kindness. I recommend their activities to many families who I work with, who have found them to be really helpful. Some of my favorite activities include:

Make peace rocks — paint rocks with kind words and place them around town to delight your neighbors.
Harvest seeds from fruits and replant them.
Discover something new about a different culture or a different country.
Listen to music from different parts of the world.
Pick at least one country from each continent and discover their favorite food or dish.
Create an acts of kindness checklist and complete as many items as possible from home.
Create a family vision board to track your dreams and goals

Idea: Activities to help boost your mood

Submitted by: Paloma Bautista, licensed clinical social worker

Arts and crafts — Paint your favorite quote on a canvas and hang it in your bedroom or a common area. Or, gather old magazines and create a collage with short-term goals and positive quotes.
Journaling — Practice journaling by writing three to five positive things that happened today, and/or explore your personal strengths and add them in your journal.
Exercise — Go on a short 10-15 minute “mind-full’ walk with a loved one from your household. Incorporate your five senses. Identify five things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste
Movie — Watch your favorite or perhaps a new holiday movie with a loved one. Take turns after the movie talking about your favorite part.
Baking — Bake your favorite holiday treat or learn to bake a popular family dish.

Idea: A new way to ask and answer, “Are you OK?”

Submitted by: Liz Hawkins, CHOC volunteer and mental health advocate

One simple check-in I heard that really resonated with me was from managers at Dell beginning team meeting asking team members, “Are you above the line or below the line?” It gives you the opportunity not to delve too personally if you don’t want to with your co-workers but at the same time that shorthand gives people a snapshot that things may not be great today. I think this could also apply with teens and with others in your life that don’t always want to go into detail but for whom you want to know how they are really doing.