Coronavirus Pandemic: How Can We Reduce Long-Term Impact on Children’s Mental Health?

 

Day in and out, all we hear are numbers of the destruction caused by a virus that seems to be beyond our control at the moment. It has left each and every one of us in a state of uncertainty, anxiety, isolation and helplessness. This holds true for both adults and children. It has also been reported that the covid-19 pandemic will have serious long-term effects on the mental health of the youth. What are these? How can I help overcome them? Do I have the ability to deal with this?

Yes, is the answer to them all. We have to know that we are powerful and In order to limit its effects, we have to be unified in our efforts to physically as well as mentally deal with Covid-19. Coping with fears, stressors as well as change constructively, will make us and our community stronger. It is that time to be positive role models, advocate resilience, overcome our fears by challenging ourselves and empower our children to deal with change by accepting it the way it is.

The fight for a healthy mind, body and soul is real and as a mental health professional, it is my constant endeavor to equip everyone with the way to achieve it. So the question then is, how can we as parents prevent this pandemic from impacting our children’s emotional wellbeing as well as overall health?

As you all know, it is you the parents who are the most important resource for children every day and especially in stressful situations. In this article, I have listed some of strategies that you can implement to support your children during this pandemic. I hope that with them you will not only be able to help your kids get mentally fit but also reduce any ill-effects of the pandemic on their emotional well-being in the future.

While every child and family is different, below are some ideas that may be helpful in winning our battle against Covid – 19:

1. Talk to your children about Covid-19. Tell the truth, but not necessarily the whole truth, just what your child can understand. This will enable them to feel more empowered, in-charge and certain about their choices in an emergency.

2. Know that you are the expert in your parent-child relationship. As and when you notice the changes in your child’s emotions, moods or conversations, help them process the information. For example, if your child suddenly starts screaming or shutting down or not wanting to talk or displays disruptive behaviours, ‘acknowledge their feelings – you seem to be worried, tense, upset’.

3. Encourage your child to use calming strategies and skills, such as: taking a deep breath, spending a few minutes alone, listening to music, or going outside. Practice mindfulness and implement journaling and vision board techniques to help them manage their anxieties as well as channel their energies positively.

4. Create consistency and structure in their routines. School closures and other changes in routine can make a child feel out of control or distressed – even if they seem glad not to go to school. During such times, it is extremely imperative to keep familiarity as well as consistency in household routines such as bedtime, wake-up time, chores, family rules, and play.

5. Limit exposure to media and news channels. You can better your child’s emotional health by taking breaks from watching, reading or listening to news stories and social media platforms, as repeatedly gaining insight into the pandemic can be upsetting. It is also important for younger children to get their information only from you, as you are their resource and will provide information, which is correct.

6. Know when to seek help during such an emergency, for children who are easily anxious, worried, display behaviour and other emotional problems. A stressful event like the Covid-19 pandemic, has caused some children to develop more intense reactions of anxiety, depression, or behavioral problems. While this can happen to any child, it is important to know that there are some children who are at higher risk, including children with mental health concerns or chronic illnesses and those who have had significant losses or who have experienced traumatic events.

7. Children in this group may need even more consistency with routines, sleep schedules, emotional support, and reassurance about the outbreak. It is imperative for them to get a professional for their mental well-being and you as parents have to reach out during such times of crisis. If however, as a parent, if you see concerning changes and your child has never sought a mental health professional, it is okay to talk to your child’s pediatrician until you find one. Seeking medical services at such times enables children to develop healthy coping mechanisms, resilience and mental strength to deal with any future emergencies.

8. While you are doing everything in your capacity as a parent to support your child’s mental and physical well-being it is imperative to take care of yourself too. The COVID-19 outbreak has caused worry and stress among parents, too. When you pay attention to your own emotions and take time to care for yourself, it’s good for both you and your family. Connecting with friends and family through video calls and phone calls at such times will help with feelings of isolation and loneliness if any. Making time to unwind, listening to your favourite music, playing an instrument, learning new skills and languages all helps in creating a healthy mind and need to be incorporated into our daily routines. Exercising, eating healthy, on a timely basis, getting plenty of sleep and being present are essential for decreasing the impact of the virus on your well-being.

While the above seven strategies can be effective in protecting and nurturing our children, I am aware that as parents, guardians and caregivers, we are constantly figuring ourselves and our children and the same will continue for generations. Therefore, It is that time to be gentle with yourself and your family, discover yourself, and take the step to change your mindset, fight the mental battle and emerge resilient for your children. Our future is shaped by the generation that stands strong mentally and physically. So, let’s do it right!

Embracing The Core of IBDP

When we embrace the growth mindset and build skills, we see positive results in academic performance.

Having been a teacher since 1994 and witnessed education’s many changes and transitions, there seems to be a visible shift towards collaborative teaching and learning across International schools. While teachers need to give students agency and freedom, students also need clear roadmaps to help them take control of their learning processes. 

As a firm advocate of the growth mindset, I believe the development of the right skills can genuinely contribute to academic success. As the IB head at ABWA, I want to empower students with essential skills. Teachers too need to upgrade their skills so that their students are more engaged in teaching and learning. 

In today’s education scenario, teachers face different challenges, one of which is to make them self-directed learners. The IB Diploma program, for instance, gives students many opportunities to steer their learning journey, but many of them need structure and the skillsets to navigate their course.

At ABWA, we have a detailed and robust DP assessment calendar; which is shared with the students at the beginning of the academic year. It has the entire year’s deadlines mapped, including internal assessments, TOK deadlines, timelines for the extended essay, and even weeks set aside for the summative assessments. While this makes it easier for students to plan and organize, it also makes them responsible for their deadlines. Self-reflection sessions with students during every reporting cycle also helps realign their focus.

A huge problem faced by DP students is time management. DP students grapple with numerous impending submissions and deadlines. The school's SEN department steps in to support the students with this problem and helps them to create a schedule for themselves.

We also place much emphasis on the emotional well-being of the students. The curriculum is challenging. I think they need to be emotionally strong to handle their learning in the best possible way. The school’s pastoral team provides emotional support and guidance to the students to ensure that they are successful learners. It is easy to link specific skills to academic excellence. If skills are in place, these skills will automatically lead to academic success, and the scores will follow. The whole philosophy of the IB revolves around the approaches to learning. These approaches include skills like research, thinking, communication and self-management.

The IB has identified a set of learner profile attributes; this helps teachers establish a link between skill-building and the attributes. With the job market changing considerably, employers are looking for people with the right attitude and skillsets. I think we, as educators, should continue to focus on holistic education. A holistic education includes building a growth mindset and moving away from a fixed mindset. To facilitate this, we need to provide students with access to numerous opportunities. They could be in the form of extra-curricular activities, international competitions, inter-house competitions, inter-school competitions, and internships. At ABWA the session Academia and Industry, included as a part of our Pre-IB program, brings our students face to face with experts and professionals from different fields. Such events enable students to establish connections with the world outside the classroom and develop a better understanding of the demands of work life.

Trying to do justice to both skill development and content delivery within the school schedule is challenging. The Callido sessions at ABWA focus on critical thinking and research skills and helps the students with their academic writing. The Callido modules scaffold a student's learning process and help them complete their IAs successfully. The Extended Essay modules further help the students frame research questions, understand the research methodology. Thus writing the 4000-word extended essays is not such a daunting task for the students anymore.

The mammoth shift to synchronous and asynchronous teaching during the COVID crisis, too was seamless. It has been business as usual at Aditya Birla World Academy. The teachers and students have integrated digital tools as a part of everyday teaching and learning. The assessments and grading, too, have been carried out through various online platforms.

Thus at ABWA, we continue to endeavour towards building lifelong learners. The thirst for learning is something our students should carry forward for the rest of their life. Students need to set realistic goals for themselves. Grades cannot be the prime focus; education has to be holistic and inclusive. It is for us educators to bring out the best in each one of our students.

 

How to Keep The Kids Engaged Home During Free Tme (Non- Technology Based)

 

It takes a village to raise a child. As the lockdown extends, this saying is slowly becoming so important. We are all trying to give the best time to our children without much help from our otherwise available human resources! We are becoming experts at juggling. Juggling, work “at”home and work “from” home. How I wish we had a survival guide to this “how to be a stress free parent and manage work schedules” drama! Well, that isn’t happening because that is so not human! A friend kept telling me all through my pregnancy that ideal parenting is a myth! I couldn’t agree more!

When you're a parent, it can be difficult to work with your children around from home, who want to be amused all the time. Children require attention 24x7 and parenting whilst meeting tight deadlines, responding to endless emails and attending calls every two hours, can be difficult. With the rapid spread of this epidemic, we don't know how long we will have to live like this!

As a working from and at home parent, I have tried every single thing for my extra active and inquisitive 3-year-old! It is even more difficult to keep your child entertained and engaged when they don’t have a virtual school happening.

In April, I played a “good” and ideal Mum. I structured his day with short bursts of activities ranging from painting on the wall, to playing with doh, to playing catch and ZERO screen time. The result- super exhausted me and super excited son! I slowly began to realize that I need to control this situation and handle it differently. The point was not whether to let him watch the screen. The point was whether those options were sustainable. The only thing that would work for me was to teach him to play independently. So I am writing this post dividing it into 10 things that worked for me and continue to be my saviour till date!
 

Independent Child Play: No parental guilt!!

1. Building blocks: Nothing spells awesomeness like blocks! One can play, build, create, break and recreate for hours!
2. Painting on the wall: We have a dedicated wall to be painted. It’s the most creative wall in the house. Reason: Your child will not paint every other wall or scribble or doodle on any blank space that he sees. Besides, larger canvas longer time to fill it!! Yay!! You can attend that one-hour meeting in peace!
3. Straws: Invest in some straws and use play-doh as a connector. This will require little help from an adult. However, children are smart enough to pick up the trick in one go!
4. Puzzles: Start from 3 pieces to 4 to 26. Higher the challenge- longer is the time taken to accomplish it!
5. Magnets: Magnets attract you! Invest in different type of magnets- horse shoe, bar magnet, magnet balls. Let your child go around the house exploring!

Time Together- FUN FUN FUN 

1. Household Chores: Children love to be involved in things that we do. Of course you cannot expect 3 and 4 year olds to do big chunks of work, but just the fact that they are involved, makes a HUGE difference. And more so for the boys! It is imperative for them to know that household chores belong to everyone in the house. I got my son to mop the floor, wipe the kitchen cutlery, fill the bottles, arrange the shoes in the shoe rack and even make his bed! Of course he didn’t do it perfectly and it meant one of us doing the whole thing again. You can even let them help you knead the dough. Any non-fire cooking is always a hit!
2. Role Play: This is one of my favourites! We would do a tea party, play kings and queens, put up a pretend hospital and the likes! This is one of the best stress busters after a hard day at work!!
3. Books: No day is complete without having read 5 books!! So by now, I would have read 3 little pigs some 100 times. Goldilocks and 3 bears – some 50 times (less favourite). By far- Little Krishna, Arjun the Warrior Prince and Peppa Pig Series are winners!!
4. Traditional games: I am a big aficionado of traditional games! They are fun, fuss free and economical!! What else do we want! Dedicate every evening to games like hopscotch, hide and seek, rock-paper-scissor, one leg hop, lemon and spoon and the likes! Make sure to let your child lose a few times. Life lessons are really important!
5. Scavenger Hunt: Hide some toys or some veggies in easily accessible locations. Drop clues and hints as you go. I started with potatoes!

For pre-schoolers, it is super important to set the rhythm of the day. It may take a little while to incorporate changes, but consistency is the key. We do not want to create couch potatoes. We want curious and happy children! That’s what keeps the house alive and makes it truly a home! Do drop in ideas that have worked for you in this lockdown! With children around, we constantly need to upgrade ourselves!

For More Details Visit: Aditya Birla World Academy website.