Not a long time ago going to the park, attending soccer practice, going for summer camps, rushing for piano lessons, and making sure you get back home in time to do your homework was ordinary. This was the routine lives of most school goers, working to balance academics and extracurriculars, to strike all-round proficiency.

With a deadly pandemic in pursuit and schools shut down for preventive measures, it is highly important to analyze the present scenario’s toll on school-going children. Kids are no longer able to go outdoors, to play like they used to, nor attend casual meetups with their friends.

Extensive digitization had already become a reason why today’s youngsters choose to stay at home and engage with their friends, via video games and social media sites, rather than a physical hangout. With social distancing in practice, people are further apart from each other than they usually are. Schools have taken to online classes to conduct daily lessons and are opting for online submissions and examinations to evaluate their students.

Parents are also forced to work from home. Due to excessive workload, reduced manpower, and uncertainty of jobs the household environment tends to get rather stressful. With parents busy with their work and kids occupied with online lessons and assignments, there is no room for any fun or games and it further leads to the social withdrawal of children.

Isolation makes young children fall prey to a bored, stressed and rather cumbersome life. It also gives rise to a lot of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. If the situation prolongs, we might be losing out on a large chunk of productive manpower, resulting in a halt in the development of resources and infrastructure.

We have all heard the saying man is a social animal. The same applies to children and hence is essential. It forms an important component in a child’s upbringing, to help in preparing them to take up responsible positions in the future. Daily social interaction at different social events, be it at school, tuitions, sports training, or even having lunch with your friends during recess, all of which are fundamental in developing social skills.

Due to the pandemic, the present generation is going to face a setback which might curb the development of our economy.

To improve social interaction within the household, adults can take note of  the following suggestions:

1. Spend more time with your kids

Make it a habit to spend time with your kids during the evening to catch up on what they’ve been learning recently. Also, share your stories at work to help get the load of their minds as well as yours. This can help develop critical thinking abilities in children as they can be taught to compare different scenarios that they face, based on your experience.

2. Check up on your kids regularly

Even with a heavy workload and stringent deadlines make sure you take breaks in between your busy work hours to see how your kids are doing in their online classes. This helps ensure that your kids are fruitfully using online facilities and can grasp the lessons.

3. Give them their space:

As the isolation phase is proceeding and it's essential to be with each other, it is rather suggested that adolescents be attended to by their parents but also be given the time to explore social media platforms with a few necessary security measures. This because adolescents crave the attention of their peers apart from attention from their parents.

4. Practice meditation and yoga

Yoga has proven to help achieve a calm mind and foster positive thinking. Under isolation, it is rather essential to practice some of the age-old asanas to promote healthy mental thinking. Meditating for a good 30 minutes to an hour daily can also help develop a healthy mind and improve overall mental well being.

With a deadly virus on the loose and with our budding generation under isolation in their households it is rather compelling to devise ways to help them grow and interact just as they would have been doing under normal situations. With our future captivated in the hands of a virus the ongoing battle to break free continues.

Please send your thoughts and suggestions at mail@yayskool.com