In the fifth wave of the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia, the government once again announced the suspension of face-to-face classes, and the return of children to school is far away. In addition to dealing with their children’s online learning, parents should also pay attention to the emotional impact of online classes on their children. And some parents are also working from home at the same time, the family is stuck at home, the friction is sudden, and the emotional health of the parent and child is greatly affected.

Recent studies have shown that nearly 25% of children have reached clinical levels of anxiety and depression, and the sharp decline in outdoor activities and social gatherings due to the epidemic is one of the reasons for the deterioration of children’s psychological state. We understand that parents may be worried and confused about the arrangement of online learning or working from home. We hope the following 4 methods can be a reference for many parents to understand how to deal with the problems caused by online classes and help their children maintain their mental health .

1. Establish a routine setting: a regular schedule every day.

Parents can first establish some routines at home so that they and their children can temporarily take a break from work and study and relax. Add dynamic activities to stretch your body as you build your routine, such as skipping rope and yoga for kids. We can also add games to increase fun and parent-child interaction, such as singing together, dancers building blocks, etc. By establishing a routine setting, we can not only establish a fixed schedule at home, so that children can have regular activities outside of study and reduce their anxiety about online classes, parents can also use this opportunity to better understand their children and enhance parent-child relationships.

2. Holding online social activities

Another problem with online classes is that it hinders children’s social development.

School is a medium for children to develop social interaction. Apart from making new friends, children can also learn different social skills by taking on different roles. In addition to making new friends more difficult than usual during online classes, it is also more difficult for children to deepen friendships when social gatherings are banned. Therefore, we recommend holding online activities, such as online birthday parties and online games, to increase the interaction between children. Appropriate online activities can make up for the interactions lost due to the epidemic, and also make it easier for children to meet and enhance friendships online, and support and encourage each other during online classes.

3. Join a parent watch and support group

To maintain a good psychological state for children, in addition to the children themselves, parents also have a great influence. Therefore, in order to help children, parents must first have a healthy mental state. Parents can not only support each other through mutual aid groups, but also share different mindfulness parenting techniques and use different methods to help their children cope with the arrangement of online classes. One of the mindfulness training exercises is breathing space. When children take deep breaths, they can guide them to calm themselves and describe their emotions with the weather. Parents can use the weather descriptions such as sunny, cloudy and cloudy to understand their children’s mood. , Regular practice can also make children more emotionally stable. Parents can not only share their own parenting difficulties through the mutual support group, but also learn from other parents’ experiences and suggestions to help their children and support each other during this difficult time.

 

4. “Opportunity” in crisis in unpredictable and volatile environment

Human growth will always encounter different challenges and difficulties. Do we want the next generation to grow up like a flower in the greenhouse, or like the children of this generation to be strong grass in the storm? Parents can find peace in the wind and rain through mindful breathing exercises, and meditate on what their children have gained and grown the most during these difficult times in the past two years. Information technology ability, self-care ability, resilience and love for caring for younger siblings, etc. There may be more positive changes that we haven’t noticed.

 

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All in all, parents can help themselves and their children adapt to the arrangement of online classes and maintain a good psychological state by establishing a daily schedule, organizing online activities, and joining parents’ watch and mutual aid groups. We understand that the sudden arrangement of online classes makes it difficult for parents and children to adapt, but children are resilient. As long as we provide sufficient support as parents, change our mentality, and think about the opportunities and growth our children have in times of crisis, even in With online classes, we believe that children can thrive as well.

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