Sameera Reddy Breaks Down As She Worries About Anxiety Among Children During Lockdown

Published: Friday, March 27, 2020, 17:41 [IST]

Mental health issues among adults during a nationwide 21-day lockdown amidst Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is one thing. But one section of society we often forget about is how children will cope with this.

Actress Sameera Reddy, a mother of two, posted a video on Instagram discussing how she is worried about anxiety levels rising among her children. She broke down as she spoke about what every child must be going through, and gave key signs of anxiety to watch out for all the other moms out there.

Sameera started off by saying, "The most important thing I can tell you right now, the mental health of children is definitely not in the best space right now. And every child who is stuck in a lockdown is wondering deep down 'what the hell is going on'. I was talking to Hans two weeks ago because I knew this was coming and the stuff he told me, I realised maybe we are watching too much news around him. Imagine if we have so much anxiety, how much anxiety do kids have? Akshay and me are talking among ourselves, preparing ourselves for this but we didn't realise that this little boy..."

She continued, "He is....It is so frustrating, it is just frustrating that kids have to see this. You want to make them feel safe, you want to make them feel loved. So what can we do? What can we mommies do?"

"I have put signs of deep anxiety in children on this post. Please look at it. Even if your kid is bit short right now and impatient and cannot handle this, talk and just be there for them. Make them feel safe, just be honest. Give things to do but a routine is just not going to do it. It's gonna cut it if you are actually there for them. This is a time for that, this is a time for that," she signed off.

Sameera shared a list of signs of anxiety to watch out for in her caption to the post.

View this post on Instagram

It hurts me that Hans is exposed to the paranoia and fear. But this is the new normal . And imagine if we feel anxiety they feel it even more . Signs of deep anxiety in children -finding it hard to concentrate. -not sleeping, or waking in the night with bad dreams. -not eating properly. -quickly getting angry or irritable, and being out of control during outbursts. -constantly worrying or having negative thoughts. -feeling tense and fidgety, or using the toilet often. -always crying. -being clingy. -complaining of tummy aches and feeling unwell s 🙏🏼 please be aware and communicate with your child . It’s important . Keeping them busy is a good thing but talking to them and being honest about the situation is recommended . Make them feel safe. Lots of hugs and lots of patience . ❤️#staysafe #stayhome #mentalhealth #children #lockdown

A post shared by Sameera Reddy (@reddysameera) on Mar 26, 2020 at 4:05am PDT