Challenges After Covid

Two years ago there was a paradigm shift in our day-to-day lives. The whole world was shaken by the unexpected advent of events. Everything came to a standstill. The worst-hit was the young and the old. The older generation was put to test for physical immunity and the young children for mental strength. For life we kept telling them, “go out and play”, “don’t sit at home” etc and suddenly we asked them to leave everything and sit inside the house, not for a week or two but almost two years. Those little minds could not figure out what was happening, yet they began to cope with the newly set rules. The flexibility of a child’s mind amazes me. In no time they took to the schedule of online classes, online tuitions, indoor games, and the four walls of the house. A few good things also happened like more family time, home-cooked food, etc. But the biggest hit that the children took was on the social sphere. We were so scared that social interaction came down to nil. It was difficult for a growing mind to stay isolated and to be not able to mingle with the minds of similar age groups. The social silos were observed. They started getting comfortable in their own spaces. The effect of this mental isolation was very evident when the schools began opening physically. Many students showed the symptoms of social anxiety that manifested into many behavioral aspects that varied from unusual quietness and aloofness to somewhat violent incidents. As parents and teachers, we need to understand this situation and educate ourselves to be able to deal with this situation. Firstly, it’s not the same for all the children, therefore the solution will also not be the same. Every child needs to be understood individually and dealt with differently. Spending time in nature will help them calm their minds and be able to adjust to the frequent changes. We as parents and teachers, also need to spend a lot of time with nature and learn how it adapts to change. We must hold hands to develop physical and mental spaces where our children can share and learn to adapt to change.