parents

An Open Letter to Parents and Teachers!


Are We Adding to Emotional Stress of Our Children?

 

Dear Parents and Teachers

Did you ever think that you can be the reason of your child’s emotional unrest or distress?

Yeah! you read it right.

Few days back, just listening to young children on National Platform of MANODARPAN, an initiative by Ministry of Education, India, my belief that the young growing children need a sincere understanding from their parents and teachers got validated.

I am sure, we all as parents and teachers wish to see our children growing into happy, responsible and confident adults. We sure do. But how do we help them to achieve that goal? By constant reminders to study hard, if they don’t score well; they are screwed up for life, comparing them with their friends, judging them on the basis of their marks with scant regards for values and other skill sets that they need to develop, pushing them to live your dreams rather following their own. Right?

You know, dear parents and teachers, we need to acknowledge the following facts  to connect better with our children and support them grow into their best versions.

# 1. Different Time & Context

We must appreciate and acknowledge the fact that our children are living in totally different times and context than ours. Consequently, our very own understanding of their world is very limited. What worked at our times may not work in their times. Try to look at the things from their perspective; there is so much competition and judgement around. Growing up in a digital world we are on a juncture when we no longer can expect from them to not use digital devices. All schools have been banning mobiles into the classrooms and irony of the time is that entire schools are now being run on mobiles. It means we must focus more on teaching the right usage of digital devices in place of not using them altogether.

#2. Living in Hyper Inflated Balloons of Virtual World

Children today are living in social media created hyper inflated balloons where your image and reputation is more important than the real strength of character. How many likes and hits they get, defines their sense of worth. FOMO (fear of missing out) is a real feeling for them. We need to be appreciating their real worth in real world so that they are less influenced by the falsehood imagery of virtual world. It simply means they must feel appreciated and loved at homes through our words, actions and behaviours.

What Can We Do?

Don’t Judge Children

As the old norms change and give rise to new normal, let us decide not to judge our children based on their marks. Let us value them for what they can do and achieve to their best. Instead of results, let us develop the vision to appreciate sincere efforts.

Don’t Compare Children

We are all unique. Let us understand the meaning of this sentence in its completeness. All children are born to be different. Imagine the world where everyone is the same. How boring would it be? Also understand that we can’t get children customized as per our wishes and desires. They are the products of so many factors taken together beyond our comprehension.

Appreciate their Uniqueness

Educate yourself to know the research backed information. The theory of Multiple Intelligence by Howard Gardener makes it a common knowledge that we are all innately designed to be good at different tasks. Some of us would be good at interpersonal skills, some at musical abilities, some at mathematical and reasoning abilities, some at linguistic abilities while some other at scientific enquiries. In nutshell we are all unique and it is no rocket science to understand this.

Support Them be at Their Best

Knowing the theory and real-life manifestation of MI, our job as parents and teachers is to support our children be at their best. It means we must focus to strengthen their innate talents rather than spending our time on improving their weakness. It means, if your child is good at Languages and Social Sciences and struggles at Mathematics; you must focus on further strengthening the strengths and manage the weakness. In this case, a career must be carved out of humanities rather than Sciences.

Provide Opportunities to Explore Beyond Academics

All children must be provided ample opportunities to explore their interests and skills beyond academics. It means creating and availing opportunities for your child to identify what interests her. Let children play and engage in dance, music, arts and craft and sports as well. The very notion that children good at academics are successful in life is being challenged by every day proofs that most successful people around you were not all toppers in their schools.

Trust Them

Children must be trusted. Habitual distrust leads to low self-esteem. Don’t assume that your child is out with friends to indulge in wrong doings only or you must know everything about them for the time when they are away from you. In order to know them better, engage positively with them rather than spying on them. Remember, teenagers hate being distrusted. The more you show distrust the further they get away from you. Your trust in their capabilities and sincere appreciation of their efforts helps them develop self worth, so essential to their growth.

Don’t Tag or Label Children

The worst thing you as parents can do is to tag or label them. While growing, children go through various phases and stages. If you label the normal naughtiness of your child as notoriety and always bring that out in to your conversations with others, believe me your children will prove you right for the same over time. If you ever have heard the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy, Read More you would better understand it. If you ever have to tag, consciously tag them with good labels. That also would be fulfilled over time.

Treat Children with Respect

Always treat your children with respect. Just because they are younger to you in age, does not mean that you have the right to find faults at all times with them. They might not be right at all times but they deserve respectful guidance and corrections. Also remember you can never get the right settled in anyone through making them feel miserable. In order to help them discover the right, your job is of mentor, coaching, guiding and being there. You never slap your children when they  fall down and are injured. You pick them out of love and comfort them. Just try to understand emotional fall. Be there to hold hands and guide through when they  go wrong, no body makes mistakes intentionally. How you guide them out defines how they value themselves.

I believe, educating and updating ourselves with research facts as per the changing times and context, we sure can understand our children and support them be their best versions.

Let us be at our best!

 

How can Parents Support Emotional Health of their Children?

Another academic year and children are yet not going to school.  We must acknowledge that this year it is tougher than the previous year so we all must be doing our best to keep our children emotionally stronger and help them build resilience. Of course, academic learning of our children is on the back foot but we educators and parents can support them in learning Life- skills; courage, resilience, empathy, compassion, kindness, reaching out, humanity…all values so essential for the survival. Let us look at this tough time as a mandatory class planned for all of us by Nature so let us support our children in growing emotionally stronger and resilient!

So what can we do as parents?

Understand that children are the worst impacted. Their routines and schedules are all disrupted. Though many schools are taking classes online yet no digital mode can take the place of face to face interactions. The children are missing their friends, their meals together, their pranks, their sports, their hobby classes…everything that made their lives full of life. So be  compassionate. Involve them in home chores with you. Listen to them. Engage them in physical activities. Let them connect digitally with their friends. Promote reading and writing. Promote some activity. Above all, build on through your faith and conviction that This too shall pass!

Though this blog was written last year when we all faced the Lockdown first time and experienced its vagaries most of it is still valid, perhaps more than the last year, so sharing again.

YOU MAY NOT CONTROL ALL THE EVENTS THAT HAPPEN TO YOU, BUT YOU CAN DECIDE NOT TO BE REDUCED BY THEM.

Maya Angelou

Read More…

An Open Letter to Parents

Dear Parents,

Could not stop writing this letter to you. With hope and positivity I am looking up to you all as the future of mankind is being raised at homes.

During the past five months, the life as we knew it, has been changing so fast in front of us all that we could feel the change happening and could relate so well with the age old wisdom that – Change is the only constant.

As the things were taking different shapes in front of us, among other things, we could also see Education emerging in its new avatar. The traditional teaching has been replaced by Online Teaching and the roles of parents and teachers have merged.

In such a scenario, I have few questions to ask you all.

  • Are you ready to accept the change? (which is still going on)
  • Did you ever wonder what will be the new scenario of education?
  • What will be your role in the hybrid model (a combination of online and offline teaching once the schools open) of education?
  • Are you ready to home school your children?
  • Did you ever visualize a world without schools?
  • Could you have done something to collaborate with the teachers of your children?
  • What could you have added to the learning of your children during this opportunity (though forced one) when you were available at home with your children?
  • What is more important?

Basic competence in reading, writing arithmetic along with life skills

Or

high proficiency in reading, writing and arithmetic without any life skills?

  • Did you try to coach your children basic life skills for physical survival, like cooking, washing, cleaning etc. other than studies?
  • Did you coach emotional stability, courage and resilience through your talks and actions to your children?
  • Could you have done something to make the situation better?

Try answering these questions very honestly. I am sure your answers to yourself will help you to find out the meaning of education and identify your role in the education of your children.

Remember parents, education is not what happens inside the four walls of the class room, education is all about our experiences and leanings out of them.

This corona time was an excellent opportunity to make the most of such experiences happening to all of us together.

Did you make the most of this opportunity? If yes, keep it up. If not, you still have time to think over and make the most of the time available. Nobody is yet sure as to when the schools are reopening. The schools open or don’t, the life goes on. So the learning for life must go on.

Wishing you all courage and resilience.

Truly Yours

Anju Arora