Tough times never last but tough people do.
Lockdown may be tough on our patience and testing the courage of people all over the world, but staying at home and acting positive can transform difficulties into laughter. As the coronavirus unleashed havoc, the subsequent lockdown changed many aspects of life. Businesses and offices being temporarily closed to several new norms of social distancing, hygiene and sanitization have been introduced. Working from home and taking online classes are now the new normal and billions are dealing with the cancelation of school activities and other events. Meanwhile, students are bound at home and their schools and colleges are under temporary and unpredictable closure.
This is not an easy time for students who are usually busy with their scheduled activities of interest. And, it is a matter of concern that this year, the majority of kids and college students will be facing postponement or cancelation of school activities. Dance classes, guitar lessons, skating practice, football, and basketball sessions have suffered a major blow in the lockdown period. High school students might be facing disappointments by the cancelation of proms, excursions, or annual celebrations. Beyond any doubt, students are going through a tough time, and parents might be finding it hard to convince them emotionally, during the lockdown.
However, parents can work together with their kids and lessen the emotional strain arising from missing the company of friends, being socially active, and sharing conversation within groups.
Relate to your child’s emotional agony
Kids are sensitive; they can easily get distressed at the simplest of severities, in which an adult might react differently. In these strenuous times, parents can start by relating to their child’s emotional state due to the closure and cancelation of school activities. At the same time, they can boost the morale of kids by downplaying the negative impact through open conversation, which can help them maintain a balanced state of mind. It is important to encourage the kids to come forward and share their fears, narrate the disappointments in a healthy manner.
Stress on the need for practicing social distancing
The coronavirus has also introduced new ways of living in the community at large. Social distancing is one of the aspects being coined and diligently followed during this time. For containing the transmission of viruses, kids should be taught about the importance of social distancing and the benefits of keeping safe distance physically from people in the community to control the pandemic. Without nudging their fears, regular interactions with the child is a necessity to make them understand the relevance of social distancing and staying at home.
Suggest alternate ways to plan canceled activities
Outdoor excursions, prom nights, or skating and football practice sessions will remain canceled, however, activities such as dance classes, and guitar or piano lessons can be conducted as per the normal schedule on an alternate platform, for an instance, they can be continued through video conferencing. Encourage the kids to become tech-savvy, explore, and collate ideas to bring together alternate ways of making these activities happen. Suggest them to coordinate with their classmates and teachers for the conduction of such activities online, which will reduce the strain of cancelation of school activities.
Guide and redirect their energies
Some classes might remain canceled until the schools reopen, and this can dampen the spirits of your child. And, they might be feeling stressed staying indoors, day after day. In such a scenario, parents should step in to lighten the home environment and ask the kids to develop an interest in household activities like cooking, gardening, just for fun. Help them focus on regular tasks that they would have done after school, during a normal scenario. In addition to this, enlighten your little ones on various topics that they should know at their age and keep them engaged.
Show the brighter side of lockdown
Tell your child that “Every cloud has a silver lining”. And, there is no substitute for staying positive, especially in difficult times. Quote examples of calamities that happened in the past at an unprecedented level, and left the world in deep shock, similar to the coronavirus. Children should know how millions are getting affected in the world daily, yet; the front line workers such as the doctors, nurses, and caretakers are working day and night to defeat the virus. Countries around the world are also engaged in research to find the vaccine of the virus, as a million others are working to provide aid to the underprivileged people around the world, during such a tough time.
A word from Learning Links Academy
Schools in the Philippines continue to impart education as per the normal course through online classes and video lectures; however, the cancelation of school activities has resulted in a visible impact on the minds of young kids. Institutions like us, Learning Links Academy, are supporting and coming up with alternate ways to accelerate remote or virtual learning mechanisms through its one-of-a-kind initiatives.
On the other hand, missing important activities and events due to coronavirus cannot be termed as easy on part of the kids. It is these times that parents can play a key role and become torchbearers of hope during the pandemic. And, by referring lockdown not as a restriction but as a ‘new normal’, it will be much easier to regulate child behavior.
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