Time to be creative parents
Ezgi Oral, Lecturer at Child Development Program, Vocational School of Health Services, Izmir University of Economics (IUE), made recommendations to parents to help their children, who are having distance education at home due to coronavirus.
As staying at home is very vital these days, Oral stated that not only children but even adults were having difficulty to abide by the social isolation caution. Oral reminded that it was more difficult for children as their routines changed, they couldn’t go to school and spend time with their peers. “Creating a routine at home, and specifying sleeping, playing, studying times would be very beneficial in effective planning of the day and spending quality time,” said Oral.
Indicating that parents would make up for the time lost with their children during this period, Oral said, “As children waited for their parents to come home from work in the chaos of the day, they experienced exhaustion due to getting up and going to school. Therefore, they did not get a chance to spend quality time together. Now, both parents and children should make the best of this time together. Establishing good communication and playing games with them would promote healthy development in children.”
ANYTHING CAN TURN INTO A GAME AT HOME
Oral stated that anything could turn into a game at home and she said that parents could engage into activities with their children such as hanging papers with clothespins, building tents with sheets, baking cookies and cakes together, etc. Oral said that sharing responsibility about keeping the house hygienic might also reduce the anxiety of children during this period. Oral made the following recommendations: “If your children are experiencing fear and anxiety, let them talk about their feelings. Now is the time to be creative parents for your children. Plan the day together by asking their opinion. Make sure to have personal time for yourself and for your children. Create and plan time for children so they can play and be productive, and study. Turn this into a daily routine. It would ease this period for you and your children both. Of course, remember to put a limit to time spent with technological devices such as computers, smart phones, game consoles, TV’s etc.”