This summer, children are doing their best to manage transitions. Normal changes that occur at this time of year, such as graduating grades or changing schools, are difficult enough. Children need time to process and understand, and patient adults to hold space for their spectrum of feelings. We’re now also asking children to make a bigger adjustment with us as our cities and towns become vaccinated and we create new social guidelines to best handle this new phase that we are all in together.
A child said to me a few weeks ago, “if I take my mask off, I’ll get COVID!” Children, especially younger children, have adopted the wide range of our stances towards this incredibly challenging and dangerous virus. As guidelines change, it’s important to be patient with kids and help them understand what we know – even if it’s explaining some things that we don’t know, and how knowledge changes too. At Mindful Sports Summer Camp, we’re doing our best to be flexible with families, to work within our local, state, and national recommendations for safety while providing a sense of safety and stability. We’re so proud of all of the kids in our program for being so strong and brave this year! We’re looking forward to a fantastic summer. Let’s all do our best to be mindful of the different emotional reactions to these changes, and continue to be patient and help our kids, our communities, and ourselves.