By Prevention Specialist LaQueda Lewis
We have all been experiencing the inimical effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on our society and families. One of the big changes that have occurred is virtual learning because our children cannot attend school due to the potential spreading of the virus. The big question is how do we approach the challenges of our children attending virtual school? We must first understand that virtual learning can be effective because it helps the student feel the sense of freedom of a college student, but also reminds them that there is an agenda that must be completed or there will still be consequences, which will keep most students on track. It is up to parents to reinforce the lessons that are being given to our kids so that the teacher’s assignments are beneficial to the students.
I do understand that there are a lot of parents and single parents that have a lot of work on their plate, but we must take the extra 30 minutes after work and check our children’s assignments to ensure that they understood the lesson. I say this because it will eventually save you time in the long run and your child will begin to figure things out for themselves, helping them to and perform well on their future lessons. With virtual learning, your child will be able to pull information from thousands of vetted resources. Additionally, YouTube is excellent for entertaining, educational videos that can reinforce a school lesson that might have not been interesting to your child. One thing that is key is that you share some of your life lessons with your child to make the information they’re learning more real to them. Subsequently, virtual learning will allow the parent and child to have a stronger bond because the parent can see what the child is struggling with. With the one-on-one time with your kids, you can help improve your child’s cognitive development so that they are better equipped to solve problems. You can strengthen your child’s speech and language development by making them read books and you can both write poetry or make a song together—which is so fun!
A final practice you can begin with your child and works in conjunction with the Coronavirus, is to teach them about saving money. I am currently doing this myself because it is something I really wish I had been educated on as a child. This will help your kids live healthier, happier, and less stressful lives in the future. An example of this may be giving your child a small allowance once a week or once every two weeks and tell them the importance of only buying things they need. Hopefully, they will start to see their money grow and develop a financial mindset. I suggest this because you will have a greater effect on your child’s behavior than their teacher because they love you and they look up to you. Lastly, enjoy the time with your children and have fun learning with them because they are counting on you. It’s the children that make our lives important.
References
Discovery Education (2020) Empower Educators and Ignite Inspiration. Retrieved from: https://www.discoveryeducation.com/virtual-learning/
The Educators Room (2016) The Importance of Understanding Child Development. Retrieved from: https://theeducatorsroom.com/importance-understanding-child-development/
Family Education (2020) Ways to Teach Your Children About Saving Money. Retrieved from: https://www.familyeducation.com/life/teaching-kids-save/9-fun-ways-teach-your-children-about-saving-money
