Not Allowing the Pandemic to Stop Your Child's Development

Since their birth, children undergo changes and developments of all sorts: physical, mental, emotional, and so on. From crawling during their early days to walking, running, thinking, making decisions, and every other activity that they do is possible because of this natural development.

But this pandemic has hugely interrupted kids' development in so many aspects. So, we have with us today Mrs. Mehak @momlovesig to talk about 'Not allowing the pandemic to stop children's development".

Mrs. Mehak is an Instagram blogger who shares amazing content on DIY art and crafts, food recipes for babies, and posts on lifestyle.

Check out: Keeping Children Away from Phones with Juhi Saxena

What do you mean by development?

Development is a large term that incorporates changes: emotional changes, psychological changes, and physical changes which begin right from birth and are bound to happen till adolescence and beyond. 

What is important for development in kids?

The early stages are the most important years of their life. The first five years are the most important years of their life where they learn the maximum things and 90% of the child's brain is developed by this age. So at that particular age when we work on and put effort into their development, which is an investment in their development and is carried forward to their adolescence and adulthood. Like the negative traumatic experiences are carried by people till their adulthood, something positive and good done to nurture the child will also be carried forward. So, this is why nurturing them in their early years is very important.

How many stages of development does a child go through?

There are a total of five stages. 

• Cooperative development: In layman's terms, it is problem-solving skills. For example, you give children a two-piece puzzle which they will try to solve even if they fail. But then they will learn how to solve even the fifty-piece ones.

• Socio-emotional development: It means how the children behave outside the house or how they are with other kids. It must not be confused with being an extrovert or an introvert. It means when a baby is born and starts to smile or even wave, then it's social development. Emotional development is when a baby starts understanding emotions like helping others, acknowledging when they hurt others, and saying sorry, developing self-control, etc.

• Speech and language development: When babies are born, they don't know a word but with time they start grasping some words like Mumma, Papa from us, and then gradually start speaking them. So this is speech and language development which then leads the children to speak complex sentences and phrases.

• Fine motor skills: We need the contraction and relaxation of muscles to do something simple like even holding a glass, pen, or toy. This development is bound to happen naturally. 

• Gross motor skills: These are more complex motor skills where muscles are required to perform more complex activities like pushing, standing up, walking, crawling, or running.

During the pandemic, the development of kids in the outer world is almost forbidden. As parents, how can we help kids develop in such a situation?

The first and most important thing is to create a positive environment at home. We as parents hold the responsibility to help our kids indulge in activities so they don't get bored or stressed at home. Sometimes we don't realize the level of stress we pass on to our children. They are smart and sensitive, they catch the vibe and understand that something is not right. So make sure you don't pass this unhealthy stress on to your children. 

Secondly, listen to them when they are bored and give them options of activities, and communicate with them. So, as parents, we must create an environment that doesn't let the stress and negativity get in our children's minds. 

Covid pandemic, consequent lockdowns, no schools, or outdoor games for over a year and a half has been a severe blow to the psychological development of the kids. What are your views on this?

Yes, it has affected them immensely. They have become more irritable, demanding and wanting everything according to them. But you have to communicate with them and tell them facts and older kids will understand this way.

Don't lie to them, tell them facts, communicate with them, and spend quality time with them. Sometimes let them get bored because boredom leads to creativity. This will help them tackle the situation alone and be innovative. And provide them with resources. They are home-struck for the whole day so provide them with toys and books they need to indulge themselves in.

An increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms has been seen in kids too. So what can parents do to help their kids?

If the symptoms are severe then you must seek medical help but if they are mild then you must make some changes in your lifestyle. Don't neglect their emotions which creates a wall of separation and prevents the children from sharing their emotions in the future. Acknowledge their feelings and sadness and communicate with them.

Children spend a lot of time on social media because of which their interaction with peers is less. So what is the solution to this?

Social media is sometimes unavoidable even for us adults and kids learn what they see. So be a role model for your kid. Be creative, do some other activities that attract your kids, and then only the children will understand the disadvantages of social media.

Ezyschooling thanks momlovesig for her insights and we hope that this will help you and your family deal with the various hurdles of parenting.

Also read: Role of Family Time in a Kid’s Development with Rucha Tembe