Now after over a year of school closures and disarray schedules during the coronavirus pandemic, children and teens are step by step returning to in-person learning. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, parents had to adjust rapidly to remote schools and work. This process took a while for kids and parents. It often felt like school schedules and rules kept shifting.
Returning to the School After COVID-19 — Mixed Emotions
Reopening school is an optimistic step in returning to normal life. But school children and their families may have mixed feelings about it. Unreliability about covid-19 risks can complicate kids’ return to classroom learning. After a year of remote and multi-method learning, Now parents and kids have to adjust again. Even if the school might seem like a familiar region, things are different. Everybody’s out of practice.
Some kids will take the changes in their steps. Some children and teens will be excited to get back to school and see their friends and teachers. But in between for other children, it will be very difficult to adapt. They may need support from parents and teachers. Even they need some time back to normal life. Kids have a lot of different feelings right now. Accept that and make space for them. As everyone knows that school begins again, here are some problems parents and your kids might face.
Problems & Solutions, Here we are giving some tips on how to handle them:
- Set Morning Routine: When school was remote, morning routines were comfortable. It takes little time to get ready when school happens at home. School means an everyday new morning routine. It means waking up on time, getting dressed, being ready on time, and out the door at the right time.
Tips: Try to put daily routines in place. A few days before school starts, change the bedtimes and wake-up times that will be required. Some teens will have to wake up early. Make sure they get the sound sleep they are in need of.
- Help kids organize: Have places for all the things kids need for school. It makes it easy to take hold of everything and go fast. Let your child assemble what they need and decide where to keep it.
Tips: Help your kid practice at home before school starts up again. Let younger kids practice getting ready for school like kids can practice sitting in their seats, raising their hands. Do this together. Fixed the time to see how long it takes. Make it entertaining.
- Adjustment with Friends: With the reopening of school, lots of kids worry about fitting in and having friends. With the reopening of school, lots of kids worry about fitting in their having friends. The pandemic meant kids didn’t have as many options to interact with friends. Interpersonal skills may be rusty. Children may worry about whether they will fit in and feel welcomed by their friends.
Tips: Help kids practice social skills. Play with kids in group games as a family. Set up safe outdoor games dates with some friends. This will help kids with their social skills.
- Anxiety: Kids may have new anxiety and fears after spending so much time at home. They may worry about being away from home or apart from their family. Back to school means facing the social situations they panic like kids might worry about speaking up in class.
Tips: If you know your kid has anxiety, then talk about it. Take the challenge together. Give your support and encouragement. Show you confidence in your child. Hold up their steps forward. Help them. Tell them anxiety doesn’t get better when they keep away from things. The best solution is best to face fears by taking small steps forward.
- Schoolwork Pressure: Some students’ performance was really good with remote learning, better than other students. Now kids with learning issues, or those without technology may have struggled. Every student will have anxiety about the new workload and performance.
Tips: Help them to lift their schoolwork pressure. So much pressure can bottom a child’s confidence. If you are looking for your child to seem to be struggling, set up a meeting with the school teachers. Ask teachers how to help kids get back again so they can enjoy learning again. Without pressure and with enjoyment kids do better.
- Classroom-Rules may be different: Now classroom might look different. Social distancing measures are in place that stop normal interactions among kids and their friends. COVID-19 safety precautions may apply to them in the school setting. New classroom rules have to follow. This might be difficult for students. Masks might still are required, which can be tough for younger children.
Tips: You can help your kids practice listening to directions — and following them. At home try doing it as a classroom role-play. Give a chance to kids turn playing the teacher. Remind kids to know that the rules are there to keep everything fair and everyone safe, so follow the rules.
- Kids who have lost a loved one: Many students who lost their loved ones in covid-19 they still dealing with loss, grief, family hardship, or trauma. They may feel anxiety and depression. Resuming school makes it very hard for those children to engage with classrooms and teachers.
Tips: Here it is important for family members to unite in supporting that child. Talk with kids with sensitivity and tell the child that you are not alone. Allow teachers and school counselors to know about it. It can help if someone at school knows that a child has been through a hard time.
