During this *24*7 home stay, you might be inclined to create a minute-by-minute schedule for your kids.
You may specify number of hours of learning, including online activities, science experiments, and book report.
We have never experienced anything like this before and over the coming weeks, we all may experience different behaviour issues with kids.
Whether it’s anxiety, anger, or protest that they can’t do things normally – it will happen. You’ll see more meltdowns, tantrums, and oppositional behaviour in the coming days.
This is normal and expected under these circumstances.
What kids need right now is to feel comforted and loved. To feel like it’s all going to be ok.
And it might mean that you tear up your perfect schedule and love on your kids a bit more.
Bake cookies and paint pictures. Play board games and watch movies. Do a science experiment together or find virtual field trips of the zoo. Start a book and read together as a family. Snuggle under warm blankets and do nothing.
Don’t worry about them regressing in academic studies however, attending virtual school has merit to ensure uninterrupted journey of learning. When we are back in the classroom, we will take care of it. We are experts at this!
Don’t pick fights with your kids because they don’t want to do math. Don’t scream at your kids for not following the schedule. Don’t mandate 2 hours of learning time if they are resisting it.
At the end of all of this, your kids’ mental health will be more important and pertinently how they feel during this time will stay with them long after the memory of what they learnt.
So, keep that in mind, every single day.
Enjoy watching your child painting, colouring, making craft, helping you in the kitchen, in small house hold chores, seeing old photos, listening to birds chirping, etc.
Clocks have stopped for everyone.
Relax
Relive what was missing for years.
Thank you.
Rashu Navgekar
Radcliffe advisors.
