Thread by @HoarseWisperer

Some unsolicited advice from a parent who has steered a child through some rocky times:

Kids don’t need life to be perfect. They just need it to be orderly

They need predictability not perfection.

While things are uncertain now, you can still give them foreseeability.

1/

Emphasize predictability and a sense of order.

Even if it is just a few days at a time, let them know what the plan is for today, tomorrow and the next few days.

Let them know that even as events are out of our control, *you* aren’t out of control.

2/

When my son was too little to read and I had to be away for work, I made him a calendar with pictures on it.

They showed where he would be every day and where he’d sleep each night.

His routine was disrupted but his life was still predictable and orderly.

3/

Kids, especially little ones, are far more adaptive than we are.

They can adapt and adjust to vast routine and schedule changes easier than we can... provided they see them coming, understand them and know you’ve got it under control.

4/

Find a way to map out what is ahead - even if it is just a few days at a time.

Today we’re having tacos. Tomorrow Nana is coming. Friday is Movie Night.

If you’re in control of their situation, they don’t feel like life is out of control.

Predictability is stability.

5/5