Online Classes And Clueless Parents: What To Do, And How To Do, Some Tricks Of The Trade.

As if the terrifying COVID lockdown wasn’t enough in itself to make our lives miserable, the online classes just added to this turmoil, catapulting us into the new digital reality. Now, parents need to shoulder the herculean responsibility of their kid’s online classes along with working from home, the stress of joining back, managing household chores, and errands among many others. Trust me; the reality is scarier than this picturization and it’s here to stay.

After the initial casual vacation-classes attitude, parents are now forced to accept this new realm as the working schools for their kids.

Working through this unusual time, with one in lap (4 months now), and 3 on the screen (7, 8 and 9 years!), for the last 2 months, I must admit having them stay at a place for the entire session is the hardest part, and the most essential one without a doubt. The purposeful sitting with learning follows through later. Let me share some tips and tricks of the trade that may help the concerned parent in you to navigate this hardship with some ease.

☼ Dedicated space and device

Work on building a decent working station for your kid.
A quiet, and comfortable space dedicated to school-related activities is the most important starting point, a dedicated device will serve the icing on the cake.
If space provision is a constraint, move your furniture to make a small corner available as your genius’s personal niche.
Being hooked onto a small screen is very tough especially for the younger lot. If possible, invest in a desktop/laptop customized to her needs.
Though not a perfect substitute, the screen projectors offer an affordable and practical alternative. Eye strain is a big problem when using the screen for long times. Blue-light filters, anti-glare glasses, low brightness levels, and strict onscreen time budgeting prove huge help.

☼Minimize distractions

This is very vital. If two kids take classes, keep them in separate rooms. Background noise should be minimal, limit gossip sessions, avoid playing TV or music,  keep a check on people frequenting the place, don’t allow other kids to play in the same area while your child attends the classes.

Background noise-canceling headphones offer big help in this regard. My 7-year-old has become a huge fan of his JBL headset, and we are in love with the peace of mind achieved. The constant classroom banter has finally transformed back into our cherished, tranquil living space. I would advise against the use of earphones, especially the ones with hard earbuds. It can become the cause of a relentless earache.

☼Maintain a routine

Although it’s tough to simulate exact school time at home, as much as possible stick to keeping it fairly close. A fixed and predictable routine helps kids adapt to the situation and cruise smoothly through their day and forms a firm footing for the online-class platform.
A simple schedule that may work wonders may look like-
• Sticking to a healthy sleep hygiene ritual, with fixed sleep in and wake up times. A good night’s sleep is vital not only for the little one’s mental and physical health but for her strong immunity too.
• Daily bath and breakfast should be complete before the classes commence. Having kids eat or being wrapped lazy in blankets is one tangible distraction, both for the kid and the teacher. You won’t allow it in a real classroom, so don’t let it creep in your virtual arena unduly.
• Encouraging the child to have all next day related material ready at the working station before the class commences, can be easily done the night before.
• No snacks or food allowed in the class. Keep a water bottle placed nearby to minimize breaks.

☼ Don’t be their substitute, be their support

No one expects parents to be full-time teaching geniuses. Allow kids some struggle and troubleshoot together. Struggling is healthy and should be encouraged.  Let the kids do brainstorming and complete their on/off-screen tasks themselves. Be a thoughtful assistant only.

☼Always follow-in and follow-up

A routine morning check-in may consist of the parent having a constructive conversation with the child with an emphasis on online schooling.
At breakfast table, you may ask:
• about the days schedule- classes/ subjects/assessments/play-time/any planned activities
• any resources needed for the day-stationary/project related stuff
• help needed from an adult- for a project/difficult topic/ online resource
• any other specific requirement for the day, especially if you are office-going
Before you kiss goodnight, you may ask:
• about the day in general.
• what did s/he learn today, anything exciting or new.
• how was the interaction during classes, any struggling area/ unpleasant/ pleasant element
• does the child need any change in the next day’s schedule that may make it better than today, welcome their opinion.
• does the child hand-over all assignments or needs your help finish some pending work.
• any specific difficulty faced, and how can you help?

☼Keep a check

Make sure an adult monitors the child during classes and whenever online. Keep the doors open, ensure digital safety, and apply restricted internet settings as per the age of your child. Young kids wander away quickly in-person and in-thoughts both and need frequent checks. If you are office-going, you can install a copy of the app and log-in throughout the duration of the class to keep watch. Microsoft teams allow multiple running copies with the same username, check for your feasibility.

Make sure your ward is submitting the assignments on time especially for those younger than 10 years of age. Ensure discipline in this and submit the work on time. Help your child with finishing and submitting the work as much as you can and as per your child’s need.
The teachers are very meticulous in checking and returning your submitted assignments. Always check the remarks and share the feedback with your child. A healthy dose of appreciation keeps the morale of children up, and kids are very keen on improving on areas suggested by their teachers. It’s a very healthy feedback system in absence of real interaction.

☼Don’t panic, have patience

Your kids will learn how to deal with this extraordinary demanding time by observing your actions and emotional maturity. Be the right model for them. Be optimistic, patient, improvising, and make use of the limited resources to your best with an encouraging and cheerful attitude.
If your ward is not able to get some work done or understand a piece due to poor network, you can always go back and see uploaded resources for that class later. Don’t go nuts, disturbing all other attendees for a technical glitch at your end. Your anxiety and stress will seep down into your child and make her anxious furthermore.
Teachers can be contacted post-session for clarification or you can yourself fill in the gap. This is indeed an excellent mode of spending some quality time with your child.

☼Improvise, teach the best use of resources

If the child needs a colored A4 sheet, color a white one, use a newspaper instead, or tear off some old book, whatever is available. Don’t be perfectionists in their projects. Encourage improvisation and best use of available resources. Let’s do some troubleshooting
Task: Need to make a Pandora box and decorate it.

At any point, don’t try to be a perfectionist, teach him the best use of limited resources.

☼ Don’t expect miracles, allow some chaos

Children are having as much hard time adjusting to being locked down, socially distanced, and the new virtual reality as you are, if not more. Be little empathetic, bow down to the level of these small, still maturing neural beings, and give them some benefit of the doubt. They need your constant encouragement and support, now more than ever. Allow them to grow at their own pace.
This won’t be a blunder to allow kids to be as chaotic as they were in their native classes before lockdown. Don’t expect kids to behave as saints with years of meditation behind their calm demeanor. Allow kids to be kids.

☼ Homeschooling for a year

Many child experts believe that kids under 5 years of age can be safely home-schooled for a year. It may be an actual reprieve for all. You may want to consider that WHO allows for 1 hour of screen time for kids less than 5 years and no screen for infants.

☼ Small rewards reap big dividends:

Having a behavior reinforcement program can do wonders here to imprint the desired behavior. A simple “points system” can be devised to help ingrain the new system.
You can make a simple chart at home and stick it to a prominent/visible place or download yourself a printable online version.

You may assign-
10 points for sitting through the class
10 points for finishing all stuff asked in class
10 points for having books and stationery placed back at the end and so on as per your need
Whenever the child completes one part, appreciate enthusiastically and give the points. Don’t nag for the undone part. Encourage earning more points next time.
A parent may shout-out: WOW! You sat through the entire class. That was just awesome. I bet next time you will make it  20 when you keep all stationary back.
Decide what do you wanna do with the points: access to some desired food, or screen access or storytime e.g. 50 points can earn 1-weekend movie with the family of the junior’s choice, or some points for his favorite ice-cream or burger or cash redemption and ability to buy a particular item they want.

☼ Have some fun, innovate indoors when you can’t be in the sun

This too shall pass, make as much of it as possible. Interact with your kids, play board games, dumb charade, cards, engage with family and friends in virtual game arenas, have face-time chats, do small DIY projects, gardening, etc etc. As much as you keep little minds engaged, they will stay away from screens.
At all times take care of your physical health and mental peace. This is a temporary situation not worth losing your mind to it. Put in your best efforts and leave rest to the almighty.

I am hopeful that these simple tricks of the trade will help you navigate this not so simple time, and you shall be able to see your little wonder do wonders in just no time.

Disclaimer:    The article was originally published with Momspresso and can be viewed here.