To ask whether your child is behaving differently during lockdown?

[Rainbowb]

My 8yo dd seems to be stropping a lot, crying over silly things, becoming very whiny. We don’t ask much of her at all but just getting her dressed and outside is a massive daily battle. We understand how much she must be missing her friends so we probably let her get away with quite a bit but just wondered how other children were feeling and acting?

[Echobelly]

DD's (11) anxiety has gone up a bit though outwardly she's dealing.

Interestingly, DS (8) who was is in the process of being assessed for ADHD seemed to be physically 'flapping' a lot more at the beginning of it (the psychologist who was assessing via skype commented on it, and DS continued to flap quite noticeably for a few weeks afterwards, though it's mostly subsided now). He's otherwise pretty as normal.

[Mrsbclinton]

The change in my 6 year old is unbelievable. Way more relaxed, happier in himself and very few angry outbursts.
Outside playing most of the day and sleeping for longer everynight.

[Willowmartha1]

Yes my eight year old DD is moody, teary and needy it's awful to see.

[grume]

DD is 2 and pretty much the same as she's always been - chirpy and active and alert, interacting with family at home but also happy to play on her own. She's more physically active and we spend more time outdoors than we used to, as I've replaced her various indoor classes/play sessions with daily walks. We don't have a garden and would have both gone stir crazy being indoors through lockdown, so we spend hours outside walking around London finding new places to run around.

[Sallycinammonbangsthedruminthe]

My dd is 8 yrs old and its been up and down. The first 4 weeks it was like a school holiday for her and she was very content and settled.Then on week 5 she was in bits.She seemed to slip.She was teary and anxious and clingy. She began talking like a smaller child and sleep went to pot and she wet the bed. This lasted a few days and ws really worrying and concering.I was so worried I rang school and asked their advice.All completely normal apparently as I wasnt the first parent they had heard from experiencing similar difficulties.She got over it pretty quickly and although she is missing her friends and teachers and extended family she is now back on an even keel. Its so awful to see them so distressed and to be fair we have spoilt her loads more than we usually would she seems more accepting and more settled of the situation we alll find ourselves in. I recommend cuddles OP and lots of them!

[Lightheart]

Mine started off ok think he saw it as an extended holiday with a bit of school work thrown in but the last two weeks he's been a totally different child. Crying everytime he's asked to do simple tasks, whinging at every tea that's put in front of him and generally just wanting to lay on the sofa and watch tv (which I'm obviously not allowing). I think it's all starting to get to him.

[Lightheart]

Also mines sleeping has gotten so much worse and he is generally irritable. But he's also an only child and I think it might be lack
Of social interaction with his own age group that is getting to him.

[EllieQ]

Yes, my 5 year old is definitely affected. More tantrums, very up and down emotionally. She’s an only child (not through choice ) and I can see how lonely she is. It’s very hard to get her to do any school work (and we’re not asked to do much).

I’ll be sending her back to school on 1 June because the isolation is affecting her mental health. No one else on the class WhatsApp group has said they will send their child back on 1 June (apart from one mum who works in a school so has to go back), so I feel guilty about it, but I think she needs to go.

[SimonJT]

Mine (4) is actually okay, I thought he might struggle but he has been very good which has surprised me. He finds school very challenging (attachment difficulties and hearing impaired), but I thought not seeing his friends etc would have a bigger impact than it has.

[RickOShay]

They are all pretty good. 18, 12 and 10. The middle one in particular is ‘loving life’. The youngest does not want to go back to school on the 1st because he’s worried about catching corona. Their grandpa has it and has been in hospital for 6 weeks, so I understand.

[areyoubeingserviced]

I have teenagers and they are loving the lockdown.
My eldest was due to take A levels and had been stressed and unhappy for a few months despite the fact that she was doing well at school. She is a different person now; happy, playful and relaxed.
Dd2 is an extrovert so I thought that she would find the lockdown difficult, but she is happy and content.
Ds has always been a homebody, so he is happy at home. He has online learning from 9am to 3pm and is working well.

[Mintjulia]

Ds 11 has loved it although getting bored without his mates now. I bought him a basic bike computer and we go out cycling so he can improve his top speed and his best distance.

[Generallybewildered]

My dd (11) has had ups and downs but she’s a bundle of Hormones at the moment so it’s probably that too. She loves reading and researching so she’s just thrown herself into Harry Potter, history etc. Plus she’s loving the fact she can now go for a walk with her best friend.

My ds (9) is very different. Initially it was great. He calmed down, slept better, less tantrums (he’s on a medication that affects mood and sleep) and his learning accelerated in a one-on-one environment. But over the last few weeks major anxiety has crept in - very clingy, won’t let go of me on a walk, phobias of dogs and wildlife, won’t go in the garden if there is a squirrel etc.

[bookworm14]

DD aged 4 is emotionally volatile, throws tantrums about very minor issues and has regressed to more babyish behaviour (pretending to be a baby, wanting to be treated like one). She constantly wants cuddles and reassurances that she is safe. Her sleep has also regressed and she is waking 1-3 times a night.

I’m really worried about her. She desperately needs some interaction with her friends, so I am hoping she will be able to go back to school in June. I wish all those people suddenly so concerned about teacher safety would spare a thought for child mental health. Are we expected to keep kids entirely isolated from their peers until September?

[purpleme12]

I've no idea. I daren't send her to school now to be honest with the amount of people saying it's not safe

[Ylostigres]

Mine 5 and 3 seem fine... happier than usual if anything and less stressed. Think they're enjoying this slower pace of life we've been forced to adopt. To be honest we've sheltered them from the realities of the situation. We haven't gone into details about the seriousness of coronavirus, and we save our concerns and worries to discuss once they're in bed. We've tried hard to turn this into a positive thing by saying we're "having a holiday at home", which they think is great.

[NichyNoo]

My bubbly, happy, outgoing 7 year old son now just wants to play Lego on his own in his room with the door shut. Refuses to do school work and breaks down in tears when I ask him to. If we walk past one of his friends on our daily exercise he won’t speak to them, when previously he would’ve ran up to hug them. Lockdown has utterly changed him and it breaks my heart.

We are not anxious about COVID, don’t know a single person in our very large friendship and work group that has had it so he isn’t picking up on worries and stresses from us. I’ve no idea why he has become so withdrawn. I just hope they go back to school soon but worry about all the distancing measures making things worse for him - he would be confused if he wasn’t allowed to hug his teacher or play with his friends.

[Colom]

My 2yo was happy as ever at the start but the 4yo was really struggling. She's an anxious child anyway and prone to outburst but her behaviour really deteriorated as the weeks went on. She was always very good at independent play and would Potter around the house happily, but since lockdown besides bed, she wouldn't leave my side for a minute - literally not even a minute before coming to find me, becoming hysterical if I had locked the bathroom door etc.

I started them back at the childminder two weeks ago for two days per week, 4yo is MUCH happier and finally starting to detach herself from my leg, but now it's the 2yo who seems to be struggling and has ramped up the clingyness since returning to the CM 🙈

[Fluffymulletstyle]

5yo really struggling, lots of meltdowns and defiant behaviour. Hard to convince her out of the house for exercise but much better when she does get out. She was quite difficult to handle before lockdown though.

2yo blissfully unaware and happy to be at home.

I think personality has a big impact. The 5yo would have been difficult as a 2yo in this situation. My now 2yo is a calmer, happier personality.

[skankingpiglet]

Both of mine are struggling.
DD1 (6) is a home body so enjoying many aspects, but she is really missing her friends and clubs now. She needs a firm routine to avoid anxiety descending, so we've had to put a lot of effort into making and keeping to one. However in the last 3 weeks we have noticed a deterioration in her behaviour: lots of tantrums, cries easily, nightmares, lots of attitude, and has become very resistant to doing any home learning.
DD2 (4yo preschooler) is very sociable and outgoing. She is bubbly and happy on the outside, and has academically thrived with more learning than before lockdown (to avoid the "it's not fair!" from DD1, DD2 is doing similar hours of school work): she has learned to read, and her colouring, writing, and numeracy skills have improved greatly. BUT, again the tantrums have multiplied exponentially, and she has been having toileting accidents almost every day (several times a day) since about a week into lockdown. If friends/clubs are mentioned she gets very sad and down about it. She's itching to go back to preschool and her gym and swimming clubs.

We've found really exhausting them with long walks helps a lot, but it is impossible to do this every day whilst also completing DD1's school work and with DH working FT. They do daily PE, but this has less effect.

[Blackbear19]

My 3 yo is fine. Missing the play park.
My 9 yo is all over the place. Reluctant to do school, or go out, just wants to build Lego.

[rainylake]

5 year old is pretty happy - she is a bookworm and loving being allowed to just read as much as she wants. Sometimes she gets upset when she remembers about things she was looking forward to that got cancelled: her first ballet show, her trip to stay with her grandparents by herself. However she refuses to join in any class video calls that the class rep has set up as I think she finds her friends on screen upsetting and would just prefer to pretend they don't exist.

15 month old was very unsettled by the sudden change in her routine from nursery, baby groups with me, my undivided attention on non nursery days, to being at home all the time with her sister constantly around. We had a bad few weeks. She is better now but much more clingy with me than she was before all this

For both of them the transition after this is going to be really hard.

[bloodywhitecat]

The baby (6 months old) is thriving.

The toddler (3) has days where they struggle a LOT, I am trying to work out 1) What is normal toddler behaviour 2) What is caused by their history and 3) What is caused by their soon to be adoption and remembering how far we have come from the child that came to us a year ago.

[ScrapThatThen]

Teens thriving.