With the increased online learning to happen all around, kids are coming up with a lot of emotional and behavioral problems. ETV Bharat Sukhibhava spoke to Ms. Kajal U. Dave, Psychologist and Play Therapist at Mindsight, Mindart, Coffee Conversations, Borivali, Mumbai.
It’s the first time for all of us. Schools are struggling to impart learning, parents arranging for a spare device for the child. Those with more than one child need to provide both children with a device at the same time and kids, who are at the receiving end of all this are clueless as to what's going on.
There were many concerns from parents, as children were getting hooked on to gadgets and parents were not in a position to deal with it. It was very natural to get overwhelmed by this situation but then as the learning started happening online; it became increasingly important that, without stressing on the negative impact of using gadgets, parents had to use it at an advantage and also set boundaries for responsible usage of gadgets.
Different emotions and behaviour has been observed in children who are unable to get access online. Such as fear of missing out (FOMO), children feel they are not included or feel discriminated when they see children of other strata are able to join e-classes, there has been a lot of resentment from children towards parents who can't afford computer or internet and this has led to many a conflict in the family. Children are feeling more anxious as unavailability of resources is seen as a direct threat to their academic year and this is showing up as behavioral changes in peer-group talks.
For children with specific learning disabilities like difficulty in writing or spellings for them e-learning has turned out to be boon as handwriting and spelling errors are already taken care of through gadgets and they can focus more on learning without being conscious of the output. But for some children, it becomes challenging as they find it difficult to understand a concept. This happens more frequently as each child has his own learning style; some kids learn by seeing (visual) or by listening (auditory) and others by doing (kinesthetic). E-learning does not adequately address these issues.
Children with special needs, those with autism or who suffer from autistic spectrum disorders are used to a specific schedule, learning in a specific way, learning with a particular teacher, or with particular resources. Sitting tolerance gets affected, gets distracted more easily so parents are in a dilemma on how to supervise the e-learning, and when to let a child be on his own difficulty in following instructions increases. Keeping tasks short, giving a break in learning and small ice breaker games can help to rejuvenate them.
How do parents deal with it?
- Acknowledge what the kids are feeling. Give them a “patient ear”.
- Use positive statements to encourage positive behavior.
- If we are less Anxious with this routine, our child will observe and learn from us.
- Parents can also make kids safe internet and device connections so unwanted advertisements can be avoided. Important is children's well-being.
Role of Teachers:
Children often look up to their teachers and tend to take instructions from them more easily. Teachers can make use of role-plays, small video clips, quiz or bingo kind of games to keep class interactive and also to keep a tab on how much engagement is happening. To overcome the long sitting hours, small short games can be played or some small exercise or movement activities can be incorporated to do away with boredom.
