We are sailing uncharted waters in a known ocean. Yes, the ocean is the same, meaning our homes, our cities etc. but the situation is very strange and demanding. A virus at large, children locked-up home at all times are just enough stress to brood over. It feels like we are failing as a parent and also as an employee. Better not to feel disheartened, things will turn around soon. Children can quickly adapt to new situations and work things out for themselves. Here I discuss a few 'new normal' things for children, which may take over their old-normal activities during the pandemic.
Waking up early
Each day in a child's life is a new learning experience. Children have a quick grasp of surrounding things. So after late-night screen time, waking up late in the morning would mean missing out on chirping of birds and most importantly Vitamin D of sunlight. For a child who doesn't go out for about 100 days certainly need a dose of Vitamin D. So parents have to make sure kids receive enough of it.
Normalize online classes
An online live class for a 5 year old is a crisis by itself. I have spent hours of my time to educate my child to estrange screen time and promote books and toys. However, quickly times have changed. It is difficult for a child to adjust to the new normal of a fully functional school trapped up inside a laptop or a tablet sometimes a teeny 6 inches smartphone. From the school's standpoint, online class is a means to justify the value of the already paid fees. Working parents are natural jugglers; live classes just add up to their jig. The big challenges the children face are distraction and lethargy. Teacher's control over the student is bare minimum while the student's control over the class is really high.
Corona-virus is here to stay and so is the virtual classroom.Thus, children should be trained to establish a routine for the online school days, like attending on time,classroom discipline, maintaining good hygiene, keeping stationery handy etc. Motivating children to take care of themselves is really necessary in these testing times.
Talk more
Given the worst health crisis of our time, we can't help but feel stressed over a number of things in our new lifestyle. Interruption of work can be one of those. Interruptions come in different ways like wanting a snack, loo trip, sibling complaints, troubleshooting technical glitches etc. Be what may, we must guard them from our bad temper. So, be quick to calm down, tend to their needs and then they will be off. The point is interact more with children than taking out our anger on them.
Teach sanitization
Understanding GERMS is a fail proof way to make a child follow hygiene principles. Answer three basic questions,
- What are germs?
- Where are they found?
- How to get rid of them?
When you make it crystal clear, why you go all freaky about hand-washing, covering mouth and nose while sneezing and wearing mask, children tend to get familiar with the recent sanitization trends. Insisting them to follow the trend might establish a proper hygiene habit which can create a sterile environment for kids growth. Show clips and comics that are available all the internet which teach about viruses to little kids.
Indoor family fun
Seize the opportunity to engage children in household chores to enrich their life skills. Carrying out simple instructions like setting the table, tidying the bedroom can ward off boredom in children for a while. Reading together, watching films together, playing board games were all unafforable privileges for working parents back in the day. But, now is the time to execute all your fun filled plans during the lock-down.
Most importantly, staying calm
WHO, having confirmed that Covid-19 is an air-borne disease, each and every living human being is at risk of getting oneself infected. So, it is important to let children not panic when a family member has contracted the virus. Convince them to stay away and follow a strict disinfection routine to safeguard themselves from the killer disease.
new normal for children, online classroom training, children hygiene, games for kids, kids indoor games.
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