I tapped gently on the driver's window while my toddler pressed his back to the passenger door inside the car.
"I don't want to go!" he wailed.
We were just over a week into day care drop-off, and the excitement of new people and spaces had worn off. A disorienting world of masks and unrecognizable faces was sinking in.
For the past 14 months as the pandemic raged, because of my chronic health issues. My 3-year-old was used to the sameness of the days and the constancy of our unit. And now everything was changing.
Long before the COVID-19 vaccine took full effect in the grown-ups, we'd been and how to prepare for an unpredictable transition.
Now here we were and, despite feverish research and counseling support, I was in a day care parking lot, grasping at straws.
We had watched Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, advise the United States on the pandemic. But as Nikki Raymond, CEO of behavioral health and family preservation service provider noted, there was no one as visible speaking out about the inevitable mental health fallout -- and what we should do for ourselves and our kids.
Surely there were other families now trying to help their kids adjust to the transition to reopening as vaccines became more widely available in the United States. Here's what health and education experts said about managing your kids' mental health while expanding their once limited circles.
When should stay at home or , it's easy for parents (who have a choice) to get caught in a loop of second-guessing themselves.
"Quiet the noise, focus on who you trust and be honest about your comfort levels and family's needs," said Erica Fener-Sitkoff, clinical psychologist and executive director of , a children's advocacy nonprofit.
For starters, avoid comparing your options to other families' options. Lean on trusted sources for decision-making, whether it's your kid's pediatrician, your own doctors (if you're an immunocompromised adult), the or the , Fener-Sitkoff said.
Next, identify your boundaries. Be honest about what you're comfortable with and what you're not ready for yet. Write it down, come back to it, and make changes when you need to. Keeping a log will provide a clear reference and help instill confidence in what you decide, Fener-Sitkoff said.
Whether you have toddlers, tweens or teenagers, have age-appropriate conversations about the coming changes and how you can tackle them together.
Begin by acknowledging how you have supported each other alongside the deep losses. Talk about the boundaries you previously set to keep the family safe, how they are changing and why. For example, discuss shifting from not interacting with anyone outside the household to going to a camp with COVID-19 safety protocols.
Explain that additional changes will come as we learn more about the virus or as more people get vaccinated — or not — and that you'll continue to talk as a family about those changes. And be sure to communicate what you can all still do to stay safe, Fener-Sitkoff said.
Answering your children's questions transparently and checking in often about their experiences during the transition are key to helping them feel more secure in the decisions you're making, even if peers' families are doing things differently.
Come up with potential scenarios they may face, like being around others who are unmasked indoors if the family rule is to wear masks, and how your kids might respond, Fener-Sitkoff noted.
Also encourage kids to talk to others they feel safe with, whether it's a friend, extended family member or support staff at school or camp.
All kids need time to adjust to a new routine, said Maia Smith, longtime school social worker with Fulton County in Georgia, but parents of teens need to be extra mindful to respond to their struggles with empathy rather than punishment or restrictions.
That's because parents tend to have higher expectations of older kids. Hit pause on that. Now is the time for grace and keeping the lines of communication open, even if your teen resists, Fener-Sitkoff said.
That could look like pulling your teenager out of their room to talk about friendships, feelings and school activities over a meal, Smith said.
When parents with the transition, it helps kids feel less alone, said Brittney Walters, a licensed clinical social worker and clinical director of school-based mental health at , a behavioral health and child welfare service organization. (The letters "CHRIS" stand for creativity, honor, respect, integrity and safety.)
Ease kids into social gatherings with one-on-one time with a good friend or a small group of friends, said Cindy Simpson, CHRIS 180's chief operating officer.
In my household, we went to the playground and saw a couple of friends from vaccinated families outdoors. A week before my toddler went back to day care, he met his new classmates and teachers during outdoor play at school, so he wasn't completely unfamiliar on his first day.
Watch out for sensory processing issues. Kids who have had limited contact with others may be overstimulated in big groups or noisy spaces. Keep a pair of headphones on hand, Walters said.
Kids who have spent most of their time at home may have challenges adjusting to environmental temperature shifts, like getting uncomfortably cold in air-conditioned classrooms.
"Could it also be nerves? Maybe," Walters said. But it doesn't take much to be prepared with a pair of mittens indoors, even in the summer.
Many younger kids -- like my 3-year-old -- go through separation anxiety during any transition, Fener-Sitkoff noted.
You can develop a new routine to reset their sense of stability, security and confidence in their new environment. The more predictable the routine, the more in control they feel.
Develop see-you-later and welcome-home rituals, simple ways of saying goodbye and celebrating being back together at day's end. A forehead kiss. A high five. And try to connect screen-free every day for at least 30 minutes.
When either parent picks up our toddler from day care, we take a small treat and chat about his day while he nibbles away, reveling in the solo attention.
Just before I drop my 8-year-old off to spend time with her grandparents, I will kiss her palm, curl her fingers around it, put it to her heart and promise that's where I'll be if she misses us. We also came up with a safe word she could use with me if she wasn't feeling OK and didn't know how to express it. It's become a catchall word for how we're feeling in the moment.
"Kids remember the little things," Fener-Sitkoff said. "They don't cost anything, but they are heartfelt."
With more school districts putting mental health supports in place, teachers, principals or school counselors are good entry points to accessible help.
"It's important to communicate concerns you have about your child returning," said Smith, the school social worker. "Teachers want to help and they recognize that this is a difficult time."
Encourage your school staff to look out for and talk to you about social and emotional gaps they might observe in your child, and ask how teachers are supported in recognizing signs of trauma and how kids will be directed.
For mental health services, local children's hospital systems, health insurance member services, and the state can provide available resources.
Think beyond therapy to activities that foster enrichment and belonging like the , or ask the school about activities where costs and transportation may be offset by federal or grant funding.
The pandemic is far from over, and while we can't fully predict its impact on our kids' mental health, we can support them and hope that our best efforts are enough.
Software company Mustimuhw Information, which develops medical records systems built on a foundation of Indigenous traditions and values, is allowing health providers to capture data informed by cultural practices.
Lebanon's Hezbollah was still handing its members new Gold Apollo branded pagers hours before thousands blew up this week, two security sources said, indicating the group was confident the devices were safe despite an ongoing sweep of electronic kit to identify threats.
Following the MIND diet for 10 years produced a small but significant decrease in the risk of developing thinking, concentration and memory problems, a new study found.
The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
The federal firearm buyback program has cost taxpayers nearly $67.2 million since it was announced in 2020, but it still hasn't collected a single gun.
If something looks too good to be true, it might be. That's the message from Saskatchewan horticulturists after customers have come into their stores hoping to buy purple apple trees this month.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including more than 120 handguns and at least five fully automatic weapons like machine-guns.
For most people, dinner on a cruise ship is a time to relax. But when influencer couple Abby and Matt Howard decided to kick back with a dinner à deux, they ended up kicking up a storm.
In the middle of the small crowd — near the tents, the lineup of kids awaiting face painting, the snack table — stood a jubilant Chiara Padovani. 'When I say 'tenant, you say 'power,'' she commanded to several dozen tenants, who chanted back with gusto. What looked like a summer block party in front of two north-end Toronto apartment buildings last month was a celebration of what renters who withheld payments for months called a 'huge victory.'
The University of Ottawa's special advisor on antisemitism says he has resigned following posts he made on social media celebrating the pager explosions in Lebanon this week.
B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.
Friends and strangers have set up a makeshift memorial outside the home of a five-year-old boy who was found dead yesterday in Coteau-du-lac.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including more than 120 handguns and at least five fully automatic weapons like machine-guns.
The lawyer for a B.C. RCMP officer convicted of obstruction for telling a witness to delete cellphone video following the violent 2017 arrest of Dale Culver has requested a stay of proceedings.
Israel warned U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in a call Tuesday that a military operation was going to take place in Lebanon but gave no details, U.S. officials said Thursday. The same day of the call, in an attack widely blamed on Israel, thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah militants exploded.
Lawmakers are scrambling to ensure that the U.S. Secret Service has enough money and resources to keep the nation's presidential candidates safe amid repeated threats of violence. It's unclear, though, how much they can do with only weeks before the election, or if additional dollars would make an immediate difference.
A federal law enforcement agency confirmed it's opened an investigation into Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after he allegedly cut off the head of a dead whale and took it home two decades ago.
The mayor of a French town making headlines for the trial of dozens of men accused of rapes that occurred there over almost a decade has apologized for comments that appeared to downplay the case.
Lebanon's Hezbollah was still handing its members new Gold Apollo branded pagers hours before thousands blew up this week, two security sources said, indicating the group was confident the devices were safe despite an ongoing sweep of electronic kit to identify threats.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador blamed the United States in part on Thursday for the surge in cartel violence terrorizing the northern state of Sinaloa which has left at least 30 people dead in the past week.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped Treasury Board President Anita Anand to take on additional duties as Canada's minister of transport on Thursday.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh got into a heated exchange in the House of Commons on Thursday, just minutes after Singh announced his party would not be supporting the Conservatives' first non-confidence motion against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.
The head of Via Rail repeatedly told MPs a train delay over the Labour Day long weekend was an isolated incident, despite a similar event two years ago.
The Nunavut government says it will provide immunization against respiratory syncytial virus to all infants in the territory this fall, a policy change that one pediatric infectious diseases specialist has been advocating for decades.
Ontario’s Minister of Sport, Neil Lumsden, will donate his brain to research.
Software company Mustimuhw Information, which develops medical records systems built on a foundation of Indigenous traditions and values, is allowing health providers to capture data informed by cultural practices.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
If something looks too good to be true, it might be. That's the message from Saskatchewan horticulturists after customers have come into their stores hoping to buy purple apple trees this month.
NASA scientists have successfully replicated spider-like shapes found on the surface of Mars in a laboratory setting for the first time.
Lawyers representing the producers of 'Russians at War' say they may pursue legal action against Ontario's public broadcaster for pulling support for the controversial documentary amid outcry from the Ukrainian community and some Canadian politicians.
Viewers of Jeopardy got a chance to test their knowledge of trivia about B.C.'s biggest city Wednesday night.
British actress Florence Pugh has revealed that shaving her head for her latest movie role was a 'really bizarre' experience that sent her body 'into a bit of trauma.'
A case involving stolen funds from a Saskatchewan business being used to purchase cryptocurrency will be heading back to the courts, thanks to a new decision by Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says there is a lot of uncertainty around how artificial intelligence could affect the economy moving forward, including the labour market and price growth.
Aurora Cannabis Inc. says chief executive Miguel Martin is adding the title of executive chairman.
A huge king penguin chick named Pesto, who weighs as much as both his parents combined, has become a social media celebrity and a star attraction at an Australian aquarium.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
Trips can make lifelong memories when they go off without a hitch, but cancellations and rescheduled events are common because of artist illnesses, poor ticket sales, security threats, unruly weather and natural disasters.
Shohei Ohtani became the first major league player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, with the Los Angeles Dodgers star going deep twice to reach the half-century mark and swiping two bags to get to 51 against the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he's been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season's playoffs.
Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette returned to the 10-day injured list Thursday due to a right middle finger fracture.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
The plant was expected to produce batteries for a million electric vehicles a year. Once up and running, it was supposed to create hundreds of permanent jobs in a small southeastern Ontario municipality. But two years later, spending on the construction of the Umicore plant has been delayed in what the company calls a "significant worsening of the EV market context."
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.
A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.
B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
The 'Namgis First Nation says a fish farm it owns near Port McNeill shows the potential of land-based aquaculture in B.C.
For the last seven-and-half months, Toronto resident Heather McArthur has been living out what she describes as her “worst nightmare.â€
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
In the middle of the small crowd — near the tents, the lineup of kids awaiting face painting, the snack table — stood a jubilant Chiara Padovani. 'When I say 'tenant, you say 'power,'' she commanded to several dozen tenants, who chanted back with gusto. What looked like a summer block party in front of two north-end Toronto apartment buildings last month was a celebration of what renters who withheld payments for months called a 'huge victory.'
Defence counsel for accused murderer John-Christopher Arrizza argues he was in an “altered state of mind†due to days of drug and alcohol use, sleep deprivation and not eating, when he fatally stabbed a man at a Banff nightclub in 2022.
The Parole Board of Canada says a man who assaulted a young pregnant woman and left her for dead remains too dangerous to be released into the community.
Five bison are dead at Elk Island National Park east of Edmonton following an early Thursday morning collision.
A man has been taken to hospital in life-threatening condition following a stabbing incident that happened on Baseline Road in the early hours of Friday morning, according to the Ottawa Paramedic Service.
Police say a man who was taken to hospital in critical condition after being shot Thursday night has died.
Higher than average temperatures are in the forecast for Ottawa this Friday.
The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.
Premier François Legault's approval rating continued to rise this summer, according to the Angus Reid Institute. After reaching a low at the end of 2023, his support rose by three percentage points over the summer to 39 per cent.
A harrowing video has been presented to a jury at the trial of three men facing first-degree murder charges.
Five bison are dead at Elk Island National Park east of Edmonton following an early Thursday morning collision.
An Edmonton man who is charged with sexually assaulting a teen boy is a member of the Alberta sheriffs, CTV News Edmonton has confirmed.
The mayor of Fort Saskatchewan apologized on Thursday for comments she made earlier this week about killing feral cats.
Gas prices increased in all three Maritime provinces for the first time in more than a month.
A section of Herring Cove Road in the Spryfield area of Halifax is closed to traffic in both directions following a single-vehicle collision Friday morning.
Police are asking people to avoid the Dartmouth Commons area in Dartmouth, N.S., as they assist with a wildlife call for a bear.
Manitobans are continuing to mop up after a deluge of rain hit southern Manitoba earlier in the week.
Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.
A Winnipeg pet rescue is putting out a warning to dog owners across the city about a possible parvovirus in the province.
A social media post of purple apples “growing†in Saskatchewan has sparked a lot of attention. However, garden experts say there's no such thing.
A case involving stolen funds from a Saskatchewan business being used to purchase cryptocurrency will be heading back to the courts, thanks to a new decision by Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has confirmed a tornado touched down Wednesday evening near Langbank, Sask.
Amber and Adam Brueckner have a pool-shaped hole in their backyard – and their wallets.
New details have been shared about a missing family that was last seen on Sept. 1 in Kitchener, Ont.
Police are trying to identify a man who approached a woman and child in Wellesley.
A gym teacher at a private Christian school in Saskatoon has been charged. Terra MacEwan, 44, is charged with assault with a weapon. A Saskatoon mother who spoke with CTV News says her autistic son was MacEwan's victim.
Thomas Hamp says he believed secret police were out to kidnap, torture, and kill him when he fatally stabbed his girlfriend Emily Sanche in February of 2022.
A social media post of purple apples “growing†in Saskatchewan has sparked a lot of attention. However, garden experts say there's no such thing.
James Bay Ontario Provincial Police have charged four commercial vehicle drivers with impaired, including one who was hauling 36,000 kilograms of ammonia hydrate.
As northern Ontario gets ready to welcome autumn this weekend, it’s still feeling a lot like summer as provincial forest fire crews continue to battle blazes.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
Police say just before 7:00 p.m. four teens entered a business in the 1000 block of Adelaide Street North.
Police were focusing their attention on the northeast corner of Richmond and Horton, with members of the emergency response unit taking up positions at the scene.
Shedden, southwest of London, hasn’t changed much in decades – but word is spreading that hundreds of new residents could soon be calling the town home.
Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Ontario Provincial Police executed a search warrant in Walkerton.
Standing up, speaking out, and showing solidarity — survivors and supporters gathered in the core to take back the night in Windsor. The city is just one of a growing list of communities that have declared intimate partner violence (IPV) an epidemic.
The Windsor Police Service (WPS) has seized over $56,000 in drugs and have arrested one suspect.
SERVEONE Canada, a global procurement solution company, has begun Canadian operations in Tecumseh.
In a rare move, the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education has been slapped with a ministerial order from the province requiring it to update a student safety plan – drawing concern around political posturing leading up to an election.
The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.
To appreciate why Mimi Vandermolen is so pleased to notice one particular vehicle she’s walking past, you need to know that seeing this many cars in one place would have been unimaginable when she was growing-up in the post-war Netherlands.
A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.
The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.
A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.
Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.
A new community health profile in the Algoma District shows the area is significantly below provincial averages in a number of health metrics.
North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.
Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
Jim Lester’s farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
