COVID-19 and the “Safer at Home” order have us all rethinking our everyday functions, including how to keep the children in our care connected to their friends and loved ones. Now is the ideal time to try “virtual visits” with one of the many free video conferencing platforms available. Below are tips and ideas to keep in mind while using technology to maintain those important connections.
Ways foster parents can help facilitate virtual visits
- Acknowledge that it may feel awkward and uncomfortable for the child to engage with family and friends via video or phone, rather than in person.
- Acknowledge the thoughts and emotions of both the child and their family, and other important connections, as it relates to not having typical face-to-face contact.
- Young children or children with special needs may need additional help engaging in and processing virtual visits.
- Think about creative ways to help the child’s family interact with their child via video. Children as young as 8-months-old will respond to voices and faces via video chat technologies.
- Be prepared for varying attention spans during video or phone visits. If a child is too young or over excited to stay with the chat for very long, you might consider recording the parent telling a story or reading a book.
- Try to avoid scheduling during times of day where the child may be tired or more distracted, such as nap or meal times.
- Collaborate with the child’s parent(s)/family:
- Ask about any concerns the child’s parent(s) or family has in using or setting up technology for connections.
- Recognize that the child’s parent(s) may have unavoidable distractions as they are talking with the child – be patient.
Technical tips to help:
- Make sure the child is close to the camera, but not so close that the picture is distorted.
- Choose a quiet location and try to avoid interruptions or distractions as much as possible.
- Use open-ended questions and ask follow-up or clarifying questions to encourage conversation.
- Use virtual backgrounds to keep it fun.
- Use the “screen sharing” function to share pictures and projects the child is working on.