The COVID-19 pandemic has hit children and adolescents in the world hard, disrupting their physical and mental health.
Dr. Madhushree Choudhary, founder of Madhuram Care is a psychologist, hypnotherapist, Pranic Healer and a certified Art of Living Instructor. She has experience of working as a Senior Counselor and as a member of the Staff Selection Board of Army Public School.
In a special conversation with BHN News, Dr Madhushree emphasized the negative impact of not attending school in person. “With each day that children go without in-person schooling, the higher the likelihood that they drop out and never return to school,” she said. “For some of the most vulnerable children this can have lasting consequences.
The COVID-19 pandemic will have a lifelong impact on children through indirect effects, including poor diet and impact on mental health due to social isolation, closure of schools and stress on healthcare facilities.
“The pandemic has triggered the worst educational crisis we have ever seen.”- Dr Madhushree explained.
In this age of technology, online gaming is very popular among children. The closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the use of mobile and internet among children, due to which the trend of online gaming among children has also increased rapidly.
These games are designed in such a way that they excite the player to the extent of passion to play further. This is the reason why players become addicted to it and eventually suffer from gaming disorder due to which the educational and social life of the child is adversely affected, she added.
In the further discussion – She said, owing to the fact that the pandemic has led to an adverse effect on our children. They are gone 10 years back; they have become more aggressive and arrogant due to gaming disorders.
With the experience of 12 years in the field of Hypnotherapy and Psychology, Dr Madhushree shares some ways to bring back the energy of our kids and to protect them online-
Start Spending Time with your Kids – Have open conversations, Encourage your children to ask questions and express their feelings with you. Remember that your child may have different reactions to stress, so be patient and understanding. Start by inviting your child to talk about the issue. Find out how much they already know and follow their lead. Discuss good hygiene practices. You can use everyday moments to reinforce the importance of things like regular and thorough hand washing. Make sure you are in a safe environment and allow your child to talk freely. Drawing, stories and other activities may help to open a discussion.
Create a Good Bond – Try not to minimize or avoid their concerns. Be sure to acknowledge their feelings and assure them that it’s natural to feel scared about these things. Demonstrate that you’re listening by giving them your full attention, and make sure they understand that they can talk to you and their teachers whenever they like.
Plan a routine together – Get up early in the morning together, have a small workout or meditation session with your kids Use everyday activities as learning opportunities for your children. Planning and doing house chores together safely is great for development of fine and gross motor functions. Try and stay as attuned to their needs as possible.
Protect children online- Digital platforms provide an opportunity for children to keep learning, take part in play and keep in touch with their friends. But increased access online brings heightened risks for children’s safety, protection and privacy. Discuss the internet with your children so that they know how it works, what they need to be aware of, and what its side effects are.
We are not ready for this, but it came, so we have to go through this together and take this disaster as an opportunity, be creative and innovative with your kids by learning new skills each day.
