We are living a year that will undoubtedly go down in history. The world suddenly stopped and millions of families around the planet have had to change our rhythm of life because of the coronavirus , initiating a quarantine that so far does not seem to have an end date, while we do everything possible to adapt to this new way. to live.
But in addition to changing our lives, we must be aware of the impact that this pandemic is having on our children, and that is why today I share a personal reflection in which I tell you why academics is not and will not be the most important thing in our home during quarantine .
Education moves home
Before explaining why academics are not the most important thing for us during quarantine, I want to clarify that this does not mean that we do not value learning or that my daughter is free at home , spending her days just playing or completely leaving aside their education.
Academic education matters, of course it does. And it is also important to try to keep a rhythm as similar as possible to the one that children already knew , so as not to totally turn their lives upside down, following routines and schedules, and continuing to cultivate their brains.
However, now the education that she received every day at school has gone from being one of my daughter’s main activities, to being something smaller and more occasional, especially when I noticed how pressured she felt to do the homework that was sent from school, while at the same time I had hundreds of questions about what is happening in the world .
For older children, continuing their studies from home may be a bit easier for them and they can even plan and follow their schedules themselves. But with children who are still young, such as those who go to preschool or are under 10 years old, we must understand that for them the situation can be very complex to understand .
Why do I think that academics are not the most important
In other circumstances, things would surely be different. But I repeat what I said at the beginning: we are living one of the moments that will go down in history, and not precisely because it is something positive , but quite the opposite. It is a time of great tension, stress and uncertainty.
Children have been forced to abandon everything that was part of their normalcy , from not seeing their teachers, classmates and family outside the home, to not being able to go out to play in the park, or attend classes or extracurricular activities that they enjoyed.
All these changes have a great emotional impact on children, as their entire world has been altered and for many of them, it is difficult to really understand what is happening. So, if on top of that, we saturate them with virtual classes and homework, pressure and stress can be present in them .
I fully understand that the concern that many parents have stems from the possibility that their children are delayed or, for example, that they lose the rhythm of learning that they had, as it usually happens when they have vacation periods and it is necessary to resume the routine.
But since we are experiencing an extraordinarily unusual circumstance, in which absolutely all children are not going to school and must remain locked up at home, thinking about them being late should not even be a cause for concern, because in the end all children will be at similar levels and special adjustments will be made for those who require it .
Therefore, and because the well-being of children must always be above all things, for us academics is not and will not be the most important thing during quarantine , but one more of the activities that we will do at home, because even without content school children, our children continue to learn.
What really matters: being okay
So if academics won’t be the most important thing, what is? For me, from my point of view as a mother, the most important thing can be summed up in two words: to be well . Both children and parents.
We have been asked to be teachers now, and we can try to be, but our primary role as parents is the most important, and our number one responsibility is the well-being of our children, from the physical to the emotional .
So let’s put ourselves in the shoes of our children for a few minutes and understand that although we must continue to support their education in the best possible way, it is not about demanding from them or pressuring ourselves , because in the end we will all end up stressed.
Our children will continue to learn, perhaps not in the way that we have become accustomed, but with the activities we do indoors, such as cooking, where they can learn about math and science, or writing to their friends and loved ones, where they reinforce spelling, writing, and social and communication skills.
In short: let’s do things in the best way we can, with the tools we have and without neglecting the emotional well-being of the whole family , because we are all going through a difficult time, and in a situation like this, academics can temporarily turn to background.
Photos | iStock
In Babies and more | 17 parents tell us how they are coping with the quarantine with their children at home, The positive side of the quarantine: valuing the time with our children and other important lessons it leaves
