Sanchali Sutradhar

Gone are the days when children used to freely enjoy their academic life, social life, and extra-curricular life. The new normal today has taken over the regular activities from everyone’s life, especially from the children. The kids of today are now deprived of their regular activities as their school life has now converted to online classes.  Due to the restriction movement and social inhibitions, it is in a way affecting the physical and mental health of today’s children.

We have to understand that going to school and attending online classes has a huge difference, when the children remain seated for long hours without much exercise and without having to do social interaction, mental wellbeing is being disrupted. But the parents of the house need to control it and take care of it. Parenting is a tough job and it is tougher during this pandemic, because the parents have to deal a combined pressure of household chores, office work, and helping kids with study and their hobbies as well, and sometimes everything gets on the nerves and it gets exhausting for parents.

However, this time is challenging and to know how the parents are coping up with their children during this time, we have spoken to a few parents of the city.

“I am raising my 7 year old child away from my husband as he is not in town right now. It is an exhausting task when it comes to balancing household chores, doing the errands and looking after academic, physical and mental angles. Time management plays a vital role in running the show immaculately. Being restricted within the four walls of the house, the kids have been deprived of their regular activities such as playing, outgoing etc. I just try to make my child dance to the tune of a song. Sometimes motivate her to do some aerobic dances by showing her videos. For her mental exercise, I try to keep her mind active by playing puzzle games, or ask her to draw something she likes. During her online classes, I just sit beside her, look at her approaches toward it and guide her if needed. I make it a point that she does her studies as seriously as she does in the school classes. Post her online classes, just to keep her mental agility intact, I hand over my mobile phone to play games. The pressure is tremendous especially when you have to look after the development of a 7 year old child during this pandemic time, but one has to move on. When my battery gets low, I charge up and start again the next day. For the future of our children, I take on the challenge gracefully,” adds Monjuri Boro, a house maker and a mother of a daughter from Guwahati.

“I make sure I give my son regular time for some games and entertainment as it is very important for the children at the moment to be happy, fit and active physically and mentally. Apart from studies, my everyday schedule is I play mobile and computer games with my child, sometimes I tell childhood stories of my son and mine, and sometimes we watch cartons together. In the evenings, I also take my son outdoors with safety measures to play badminton, football and make him do cycling,” claims Mriganka Goswami, an IT professional and a father of a son from Guwahati.

“The lockdown has been a challenging time especially for the parents. All over the world, the parents have found themselves faced with home schooling their children as schools in most of the countries are closed due to the pandemic. The challenges that this new family dynamic brings is evident from the various social media post. It’s more challenging for a teacher and a parent who has to do household chores as well. This pandemic has proved life is unpredictable, but one needs to introspect and move on with the situation of life, also stay positive so that your children gets the same vibe from you,” states Rupa Bora, a teacher and a mother of a daughter from Guwahati.

Balancing work with children is not an easy task, but how well you manage makes a significant difference, also tackling with calm is the only solution when it comes to dealing with your children. To know how to cope up with children during the pandemic, here are a few quick tips:

Set A Routine With Children

To maintain mental wellbeing, maintaining a routine plays a big role in children’s life. Set a regular day schedule and encourage the kids to follow the same. Try to share meals together and spend quality time, talk about good vacation memories etc., but remember to keep your phones away. Follow this routine regularly to bring discipline in the children and decrease anxiety.

Physical Activity

Since there is no active playground in home premises, physical wellbeing of children are at stake now. All children should have a fixed time every day for some home exercise. It could be dancing or skipping. Those who have playground at home premises can go out for running as well. But it is a must for children to participate in daily exercise, also do some yoga or meditation which will help to build their mental immunity.

Stay connected with Friends And Relatives

Virtual connection with friends and family is very essential for children at this time as it alleviates the stress and monotonous life. Let your children get access to internet and make video calls and chat with their friends and relatives.  This will make them feel better when they will get to talk about so many things with someone else apart from their own parents.

Give Your Children Space

It is not a bad idea to give your children some space because each child needs space too. Perhaps they can watch some animated movies or listen to their favorite songs or sing loud or dance crazy; let them do whatever they wish to do in their personal space and offer them their personal space, but of course check on them in a timely manner.