Home schooling: value positivity over ambition

Schools and daycare centres are closed, and many parents are either working from home or not working at all.

While this can be a welcome release from the usual hassles of everyday life, it can also become a challenging period creating stress for parents and children alike.

Citing research from leading Scandinavian child psychologists, Djóni Eidesgaard, manager of childcare agency Barnabati, offers some advice on how best to preserve a harmonious family life in a situation which none of us has ever experienced before.

Tone down on academic ambitions

Many parents are finding this lockdown situation stressful as they struggle to combine caring for their children, overseeing their home schooling while also working from home.

To help relieve this stress, says Eidesgaard, it is important for parents to focus on sharing positive experiences and not burdening the children, and consequently themselves, too much with homework.

“Good time management is crucial in a situation like this. It is much more important to have short periods of positive homework than long and strenuous sessions which leave both parent and child exhausted,” he says.

“With good organisation of the home schooling, the experts say that, at least for the younger pupils, it should not be necessary to spend more than 2-3 hours per day on schooling.”

Stability is important

Eidesgaard cites psychological research which says that a sense of perspective and control is crucial for children and young people at times like these, and this is best achieved by giving them space.

“Children should be allowed to go outside and play, but it is important to keep in mind the guidelines issued by the health authorities, which say that children may play together in small groups of two or three, and if the family is in quarantine, nobody should go outside their own garden.”

Experts moreover recommend sticking to daily routines such as bedtimes and mealtimes, as stability is said to be important.

“Involving the children in household chores can also be a good way to boost a sense of unity within the family at times like these.”

Translated by prosa.fo