The world is a scary place right now. The one group that might not understand why? Toddlers. As the mother of a 3-year-old daughter, it’s been hard trying to explain to her why she can’t go outside or use playground equipment. She especially misses interacting with kids her own age. Our neighborhood is chock full of children, so she often looks out the window in despair. It’s hard to talk to your toddler about something so serious. Sure, she gets it. But she’s not really getting it.
It’s truly a tough topic to bring up. While I’ve always been under the impression that she’s fearless (for example, she held a fuzzy spider she found during a daily walk without thinking twice) it’s something I don’t want her to panic over. In fact, I want her world to change as little as possible. I don’t want her to sense something is wrong, or worry about never seeing her friends again. It’s very tough to do.
And, that’s why I have to give it up to the professionals. I wanted to make sure that I was getting my facts straight. It’s hard to predict how children might interpret things, and I don’t want to bring any unnecessary anguish. That’s why I had the privilege of connecting with Dr. Ronald Stolberg, Clinical Psychologist, and Family Therapist.