How to meaningfully engage children during the pandemic? Myelin`s handy tips for parents this summer.
While India combats with the V.2.0 of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents and children struggle to keep up with their mental health. What looked like much in control after the first wave now turns out a long-term crisis that Indians are battling against.
External factors triggered due to the pandemic, sudden illnesses, loss of loved ones or prolonged exposure to negative messages are now taking a toll on everyone`s mental and physical well-being. While parents try to keep up with the home-office set-up and virtual learning regimes, children are dealing with their own set of conflicts.
These summer holidays are unfortunately not like every year, and for some, these have been utterly unpleasant. Parents of toddlers and teenagers are witnessing far more psychological and emotional unbalance in recent times. Children are natural fighters and presumably much superior in tackling negative situations as they know how to move on with their daily lives. But these unprecedented times have left children and parents overwhelmed with little or no outdoor entertainment.
So how does a parent keep up with this insanity and strike the right chord?
· A good talk!
We often harp a lot on good communication but seldom make a genuine attempt to talk to our children about things that affect them. Children are sensitive little human beings who are filled with tons of emotions. Some unpleasant expressions like tantrums, feet-banging, isolation or crankiness are common during such times, and if unaddressed, could affect their mental frame. Letting your children know that it’s okay to feel angry, sad, scared or irritated is important. Encouraging them to share and express will give them a room to vent out and talk openly
· Avoid unpleasant news
Families witness the toughest time as relatives, neighbours, or friends fall prey to the ugly virus. However, keeping control of how much of this unpleasantness needs to be shared with your children will make the atmosphere better at home. Avoid television and videos that constantly show the realities on the ground and make room for a better talk
· Power up POSITIVITY
With so much noise and chaos outside, children are loaded with more and more negativity each day. The onus is clearly on the elders to get the situation under control. As common as it sounds, positive conversations do produce good vibrations and help children look at the better side of a problem. Let them explore the power of positivity and believe that one day all of this will be OKAY! Tough times don’t last long
· Unplug!
This sounds rather difficult, but internet fasting is a thing! Take time-off gadgets as a family and more so as a parent and plan a family in-door day without any screen time. Planning ahead of time and your children like an in-door picnic would break the mundane routine and actively involve the entire family to brainstorm on new ideas. Let the classics like monopoly, carom, uno, scrabble, and ludo make a comeback. A healthy off-screen game day will be fun too!
· Welcome questions and more questions!
Independent, UK quoted in an article about research that showed, children typically ask as many as 73 questions each day. Some experts also say this number ranges between 200–300, and most of these questions leave the parents perplexed or even exhausted. Thanks to Google, parents have found a great alternative to handle this daunting task. But child psychologists believe that keeping up with the Q & A is a healthy habit. Children are naturally curious, and asking more questions, even though silly, is just a good sign. So let that come in and make it evident that it is perfectly okay to question and question more
· A dish a day
Cooking is a stressbuster, and a lot of parents and children are indulging in cooking not just for pleasure but for entertainment too. Instagram and Youtube chefs are quite a sensation these days, and involving children to cook, plate and decorate will meaningfully engage them to hone a new skill. Some popular websites to explore are
Cooking with kids | Kids Spot | The Spruce Eats
· Find creative resources
Let`s accept that creative ideas don’t come naturally to every parent!
Find your inspiration on some awesome websites like Home huddle, which is a curation of free educational, creative, and fun activities categorized based on topics and themes for children. Another wonderful resource to look at is Google Arts & Culture. Explore virtual visits to museums, art galleries and hundreds of heritage sites from across the world and take an excursion right from your home. Kiddle, a safe and secure web browser by Google is also a great tool to let children research safely and independently on the internet without parental guidance
· Up-skill
Summer holidays are also about new explorations and lots of fun! So while we stay safe at home, let’s make the most of these creatively this year too! Here are a few awesome websites and Youtube channels to explore with your children this month –
o The Dad Lab — For those who love experimenting with basic tools and stationery at home, this is a cool youtube channel to explore! Fun science experiments and a lot of DIY crafts for inspiration!
o Learn To Grow — Summer can be cool for gardening or plantation too. Of course, families living in cities may not have a backyard luxury, but you could still make do with a terrace garden or a small balcony too! Find these amazing gardening tips by Misilla as she teachers awesome and simple gardening tips
o KIDS crafts — Another fun DIY craft channel full of colourful ideas is Kids Crafts. Colour paper,s pencils, glue and colours is all you need to get started
· Movie time
Who doesn’t love popcorn and movies? A family movie time is just what you and your children need, every once a week! Here are some binge-worthy movies and series to explore this summer –
o We Can Be Heroes — Love watching sci-fi? Well, this is your good bet. We can be heroes, is available on Netflix and is a total family entertainer
o Just Add Magic — This is an amazing series on Amazon Prime that is revolving around a magical world of three friends and their explorations with food and magic
o InBestigators — If your child is curious and loves investigating, this might be a good series to catch on Netflix. The InBESTigators is an Australian children’s mockumentary comedy television series created by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope
o Last Kids on earth — The Last Kids on Earth is a children’s illustrated novel and subsequent book series by American author Max Brallier. Later adapted into an animation series and now available on Netflix
Why does myelin believe in meaningfully engaging children?
Myelin believes that children perform better when they are meaningfully engaged and this enables growth. This is an integrated tool that works with schools, teachers, parents and students to create a cohesive learning solution.
A peek into Myelin`s intelligent features that sync both parents and teachers together. This helps in engaging and monitoring students` activities and interests and take actionable insights for overall development and learning -
1. Myelin’s social chat feature — This enables parents and teachers to regularly have contextual conversations about the student’s interests and strengths to maintain a close dialogue
2. Log, record and report feature — This feature lets parents record the child’s activities, new projects and interests during vacation time. This further helps teachers track record and progress on the child and help make insightful suggestions to develop targeted skills. Myelin’s intelligent reports post teachers insights, help parents can stay up-to-date on the academic and non-academic progress of their child
3. The `Nudge` feature — Myelin’s nudge encourages reticent parents to be involved by suggesting topics that they should discuss with the teacher. These suggestions are a manifestation of Myelin’s AI-driven reporting systems which collect and analyze data across a wide gamut of child development indicators such as student performance, interest, inherent talents, and sociability
4. Myelin`s score analysis — Myelin analyses and scores parental involvement, which allows teachers to check for low involvement and take corrective steps through parent outreach. In fact, Myelin’s parental scores can be a catalyst to encouraging parents to be involved in the school’s activities by conducting workshops and volunteering their time and resources
5. Myelin as an engagement builder — Based on gathered data, Myelin can recommend extracurricular activities in the community that the child is most likely to enjoy based on the child’s interest and abilities profile. Furthermore, it can also suggest home engagement activities to parents for deeper involvement and skill enhancement of the child
Myelin strongly focuses on streamlining the educational processes and unites all stakeholders in a child’s educational journey. Read more about parental involvement in a child`s success here
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Excited to know more about Myelin? Visit www.myelin.co.in to book a demo for your school or get in touch at Info@myelin.co.in
