By Kari Bergmann
These last few months have been strange and challenging times for all of us. Some of us have lost our jobs or have lost hours at work, many of us are working from home, and most children and teens are now studying from home. We cannot attend Mass, birthday parties, or weddings. We aren’t able to visit with friends or extended family even in our own homes. In fact, we are forbidden from leaving our homes unless it is for an essential reason (and those reasons are very limited). With so many unprecedented changes and restrictions, it’s more important than ever that we work to find a ‘new normal’, that we establish routines.
For children and adults alike, establishing predictable patterns of behaviour is beneficial to mental health. Children, in particular, thrive in environments that are predictable and consistent. When children can understand their surroundings and have clear boundaries it helps them feel safe and reduces anxiety. Adults are also better able to cope with stress when they have a routine to anchor them, especially one that prioritizes self-care.
Creating a ‘new normal’ could involve establishing regular wake-up and sleep times, getting dressed upon waking (even when you’re spending the day at home), limiting screen time (for adults just as much as kids), getting daily exercise, having consistent mealtimes, and scheduling in household chores. While all of these things are important, I would argue that our ‘new normal’ needs to be centred on God.
As challenging as the coronavirus restrictions are, they have presented us with an opportunity to deepen our prayer lives and our relationships with Christ. Most of us are spending more time at home than we ever have and we aren’t permitted to leave the house when we have free time. There are fewer obstacles than ever to stand in the way of establishing and maintaining daily practices of prayer. I would suggest, that as you are trying to establish a new routine for you and/or your family, it should be built around regular prayer. Ideally, begin and end the day with prayer, this is something that even young children can do. You can say grace as a family before breakfast and perhaps a simple prayer like the ‘Our Father’ or ‘Hail Mary’. Before bedtime you can encourage children to say a simple “sorry, thank you, please” prayer sharing one thing they are sorry for, one thing they are thankful for and one thing they want God to help them with. If you have older children now is a good time to get in the practice of praying the Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet as a family. For adults, perhaps now is the time to start reflecting on the daily readings or even learning the Liturgy of the Hours (the free App ‘Laudate’ has many excellent prayers). Or maybe you would benefit from some quiet time in contemplation with God, shutting out all other distractions and just being still with God.