By Diadrey-Anne Sealy, PhD
As parents, it may have been longer than you expected having your child/ren at home learning from devices, with you the parents, acting as substitute teachers. You may have often felt overwhelmed and frustrated as you balanced childcare, teaching, and your work requirements. Now that your kids are back out to school, what can you expect? School is an important part of a child’s social, emotional and intellectual growth—this is where they often learn to interact with other children. So, your kids may be excited to see their peers again and socialize with them. Play is the work of a child, but as they return to their physical classrooms, even the way they play will have changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kids that may have experienced bullying at school may be very reluctant to return and may long for the days that they were learning at home. Be sure to talk with them and listen to any concerns they may have.
Researchers have found that anxiety increased among children and youth as a result of COVID-19 (Kamran & Naeim, 2021). To help prepare your kids to deal with anxiety, you should keep in touch with the school and teachers so that you are always kept up to date with what is taking place. Communicate as much as possible with the school administrators (Fontenelle?Tereshchuk, 2020). Many schools had shorter hours during COVID-19, and it may take time for your children to readjust to the longer school day and being in a more controlled environment again. Adolescence is a crucial time for developing peer relationships and the development of such relationships would have been affected during school closures. Studies done among high school students found upon their return to school, female students and older adolescents reported higher stress levels (Schwartz et al., 2021).
In many ways, the school environment is very different from at-home learning, where children may have been in a quieter or calming space. They now have to readjust to noise, distractions and additional movement in the classroom. Many children may find this new classroom situation overstimulating. It is expected that learning loss may have occurred, so be patient with your children as they get back into the routine. If your child did not always have good internet connectivity, or may have lacked a device at some point, be patient with them as they catch up. They may also have had more time to finish their work for the day, while at home, but now have a shorter time at school, to do so.
As parents, be prepared for schools to close at unscheduled times, in the event of high COVID-19 caseloads. This school year will provide many opportunities to listen to your children’s fears—ensure that they are heard at those times. Be positive about the experience your child will have at school. Your children will take cues from you on how to respond in a crisis. Accordingly, as they return to school, if any of their friends or peers become ill, they will look at your cues to decide if they should be anxious or scared. Be careful not to burden them with your fears. Encourage play on the outdoors as they get reacclimatized to school, and encourage them to talk about their emotions.
References
Fontenelle-Tereshchuk, D. (2021). Mental health and the COVID-19 crisis: The hopes and concerns for children as schools re-open. Interchange, 52(1), 1-16.
Kamran, A., & Naeim, M. (2021). Managing back to school anxiety during a COVID-19 outbreak. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 209(4), 244-245.
Schwartz, K. D., Exner-Cortens, D., McMorris, C. A., Makarenko, E., Arnold, P., Van Bavel, M., … & Canfield, R. (2021). COVID-19 and student well-being: Stress and mental health during return-to-school. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 36(2), 166-185.
