You may be less intolerant and react more abruptly. Your mind may be busy with what has happened, images may come to life over and over again, and you may have difficulty focusing and making decisions. As a result of being more anxious and alert, you may feel tired and unhealthy. All of these can affect your relationship with your children.

The first step you can take to support your children is to take care of yourself:

• You are going through a challenging process in every sense. Strive to be compassionate and understanding towards your own feelings and thoughts.
• Recall the difficulties you have experienced and overcame in other periods of your life.Think about how you handled each challenge in different ways. Now be aware that you can use your strength, skills and resources again today. Even reading this article right now is a sign of that.
• Rest as much as your circumstances allow, get support from your family and loved ones, and start practicing your routines again. Seeing your own needs allows you to help others.

Remember, in difficult and uncertain times, children especially need a warm, supportive, caring, and comforting parent/caregiver.

Realize that you are doing one of the most important things you can do by taking care of your child during this process.