‘Lockdown may impact children’s social skills’

Shamika Singh, mother of a three-year-old from Goregaon, has been restless for the past one year

Shamika Singh, mother of a three-year-old from Goregaon, has been restless for the past one year. With the pandemic and the resultant lockdown, she and her family of five, including her husband, in-laws and daughter have been cooped inside their homes. Singh and her husband Utkarsh, both IT professionals, are working from home and are worried that their daughter Kiara has not been able to see the “outside world”.

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“She turned three recently and over the past one year, we have not been able to expose her to any external experiences. She has not been able to go to a regular play school and has not made any friends yet. All her experiences of the world are more or less virtual. This worries us because we want our daughter to play and learn from the surroundings,” said Singh.

A large number of parents and teachers are worried that as children remain in their homes for so long, there might be challenges in retaining the skills they learnt and in learning new skills that are essential for their growth and development in the formative years.

As schools and extra-curricular activities are carried out online, the social element in learning is what experts said is missing all this while.

Swati Popat Vats, an early childhood expert and the president of the Early Childhood Association, said, “Children are not waiting for their turn or listening to others, which means they are not learning conversation skills. They are not able to share. In virtual learning, they bring their material and have to share it with no one. That is not the case in schools. Basics of social behaviour will be missing when our children go back to schools and this is going to impact our classrooms and to a large extent our society. Conflicts will be common in the classroom now, as children don’t have the patience or impulse control to wait for their turn, share etc.,” she added.

Francis Joseph, a city-based educationist and the co-founder of SLN Global Network, said there is fear that children might take longer to undertake tasks that they earlier did with

ease.

“Simple things like crossing a small street can induce anxiety among them because they have just not done that activity for a year now,” he added.

To overcome the challenge, experts now suggest that increased parental involvement and encouraging virtual group activities as a way out.

Dr Samir Dalwai, a developmental paediatrician from New Horizons Child Development Center, said while there are a few challenges in learning at home, it is a very good opportunity for parents as they can finally give more time to the children.

“They can read stories, play, organise chats with their relatives online and ensure that the child is kept busy without handing over gadgets to them. When we were children, our parents could not afford to take us on foreign trips. Our understanding of the world came through books and the things we observed around us. That is what matters,” he added.

Vats suggested that schools organise small group play sessions with around five children in one group where children can chat and interact.

“The adult will be present only to monitor the children. Just let the children talk about whatever they want. It can be like a play date, but virtually,” she added.