Living with Young Adults in the New Normal

Young adults are one of the most affected age groups in the pandemic. As members of society, we can help them live properly as young adults in the new normal.

The "new normal" is what the scientists and progressive thinkers call the time during the pandemic and beyond. The new normal refers to a time where the circumstance proactively changes the norm. Due to the hunger to survive, people are finding more ways to progress in life. Due to the unbelievable number of deaths the pandemic has caused to our world, everyone else lucky to survive the virus is looking at new ways to live their lives. Every day, it has become more acceptable for people to be wearing masks at all times. Every day, social interactions become less and less popular to conduct when done face to face.

No age group is spared from the effects of COVID-19. However, I believe that one of the most badly hit is the adolescent age group. The pandemic badly hits every age group. According to studies, however, the group that will be most affected in the long run is the young adult group or adolescents. Various mental and physical health problems prop up during the ages of 18 to 25. The added stress and anxiety of staying at home the entire time and not being able to interact with ones' social group at this critical time will completely work an adolescent mind. Worse, it can develop as a mental health problem in the future.

How can we, as parents, adapt to living with young adults in the new normal? How can we make life a little bit better for them despite the pandemic?

Respecting Their Privacy

Every young adult needs their own space. A child transitioning to becoming an adult needs some space to figure things out on their own. Having their own space inside your home will help them become independent and grow to become their own person. Through privacy, we have the rule over our own thoughts and feelings.

Through the supremacy of privacy, we can choose to whom we share these thoughts and feelings. It also protects us from judgment and keeps a healthy boundary between the outside world and who we are. How much the adolescents share with their parents is up to them. Their openness to their parents will depend on the kind of nurture, care, and freedom from the judgment they experience while inside the sanctuary of their own homes. Respect should be given to those who are slowly becoming adults themselves.

Continuing Their Education

One of the daily activities tragically halted by the pandemic to the detriment of young adults is their chance and ability to go to school. Aside from the social skills children and young adults get to experience while going to school, they also get the education they need to equip them with the right tools to move forward in life. The school does not have to stop in the new normal. Schools like AMA Senior High School offer almost the real experience of an actual high school, albeit through virtual means. Through online courses, any learner can still absorb their lessons through the convenience of a computer screen.

Because everyone is encouraged to stay away from other people as far as humanly possible, this might be the only way children can continue their education. Education equips children to become responsible, functioning society members - those who actually become caring community members has a job and has an impeccable moral compass. Through education, we get to experience the full measure of life.

Keeping Fit

One of the often-overlooked aspects of being a young adult is the built-up hormones inside them. The situation is no better in the new normal. Since social gatherings are prohibited, teenagers have all this pent-up anger, aggression, and a mix of other feelings involved. Due to the excessive pumping of hormones your brain gives your body, more often than not, there is a lot of energy waiting to be used inside the body of young adults.

Instead of letting them wallow in their tears, having them release the energy stored inside them through exercise and rigorous physical activities will be the choice activity for all that stored energy. Most adults, even young adults, forget to stay fit when stuck inside their house. Having a scheduled routine exercise circuit with your teenager will help them release all that energy and keep them fit and healthy. Teaching them the value of exercise will lower their risk of contracting and develop some diseases when they age.

The effects of COVID-19 did not spare young adults. It will be difficult to go back to the pre-pandemic normal from the new normal as we know it today. The only hope is that we can guide our young adults while they are still in development form.