Adopt new approaches to guide children in pandemic time, parents suggested
On the occasion of Global Parents Day, the Delhi Government organised a webinar for parents and experts to discuss approaches for emotional well-being of children. In times of grave Covid-19 crisis, parenting has become key as children have been locked up at home with their families. Keeping this in mind, a webinar was organised to engage parents in fruitful discussion on the mental health of children. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in conversation with experts Amit Sen and Shelja Sen, along with parents and principals participated in this webinar.
Speaking on the topic of parenting, especially in India, Sisodia said: “Adopting new parenting approaches is significant to improving emotional well-being of our children, especially in times of Covid-19 crisis. A new normal has emerged and our old ways of parenting will not work. Our children who used to have many social interactions are now at home, they are unable to go to school or meet their friends. When the outside world has been a place for our children to fulfill their dreams, they have been made to sit at home because of this pandemic. In such a time, when children have been home for 1.5 years, parents have been facing new challenges in how to deal with situation at home.”
Sisodia said: “A nation which can pull of parenting in a progressive manner, especially in times of crisis and beyond, will emerge holistically and successfully. In India, approaches to parenting are still very archaic. Our ways of parenting needs to change, we need to adopt approaches that will deal with the challenges of our current times.”
Further, expressing how Covid has caused undue stress on our children, Sisodia said: “Considering our children have been home for an elongated period of time, we can see they have been going through some changes emotionally, mentally and physically. Children are more upset, they are irritable and there is no balance or equilibrium in their mindset. In such times, we as parents have to adopt novel approaches and ensure we create a loving and caring environment for our children. Parents need to adopt habits of mindfulness and be more understanding. In fact, mindfulness practices in Happiness Classes organised by Delhi Government have played a big role in easing mental stresses of our children and parents alike.”
Experts on children’s’ mental health, Dr. Shelja Sen and Dr. Amit Sen participated in the webinar and gave suggestions on parenting in times of crisis.
They stated that while everybody has been affected due to Covid-19, our children have suffered the most. Hence, in this time, it is imperative that parents change their ways of thinking and adopt novel practices to parenting. Parents need to understand the minds of their children and actively listen to their children. Experts further said that parents should organise mindfulness, meditation, yoga and stress-buster activities at home with children.
More than 10,000 parents tuned into this webinar on various social media platforms and actively noted suggestions.
