Online learning is the new normal and whether the parents like it or not, it is here to stay. The pandemic held us up in our homes for what seemed like an eternity and online communication helped us prevent a global shutdown. Now that online classes for kids and work from home for adults have built their own space in our lives, it is time to adapt and learn rather than fight the change.
There are a lot of concerns that parents have regarding online classes for kids which primarily include increased screen time and lack of physical activity. Agreed, these are important points to worry about. Although, there are a few measures that will help you resolve your primary concerns about children taking live online classes instead of regular classes. As a parent, it is your responsibility to look after your child’s online learning process and help them get the best out of their efforts. In this article, we will discuss the responsibilities of parents in the context of online classes for kids.
Role of Parents in Online Learning for Children
Technical advances have allowed for online mediums to take over the conventional classroom experience and along with it the peers, interactions, and other factors which are crucial for the overall development of a child. Schools are a place where children gain knowledge as well as experience of the world.
Friendship, competition, discipline, punctuality, one on one interaction, public speaking, and other extracurricular activities are vital for children. With most learning happening through online classes for kids these experiences have been missing. As a parent, your primary role is to be their peer, set high standards, and incorporate extracurricular online classes for kids in their daily or weekly schedule.
Maintain the Touch With Friends: Kids love to chat and no teacher is going to disagree with this fact. Allow kids to call and chat with their classmates albeit supervised. These discussions and chats help them unwind as well as work together. At the same time staying in regular touch with best friends will help kids feel more at school when they see other kids in online classes.
Set High Standards: Talk to your children about the importance of education and teach them to stick to good habits like punctuality and discipline. Often during live kids’ classes, teachers are not able to monitor Student activities and as a parent, it is your responsibility that your child does not get complacent.
Extra-Curricular Online Classes for Kids: Education is not just about gaining knowledge but also about overall development into a confident, assertive and responsible person. Fortunately, there are many online classes for kids’ extracurricular activities which parents should include in their child’s online learning schedule. Depending upon the child’s interest and daily routine, you can choose online classes for dancing, singing, art and crafts, public speaking and many other extracurricular activities.
Parenting Tips to Get The Best Out of Online Kids Classes
The increasing screen time and scepticism about the efficiency of online classes for children have made parents wary of live kids’ classes and virtual classrooms. To an extent, this reluctance is not meaningless but there are a few practices that can help parents overcome these issues associated with online classes for kids. Here are a few tips that will help parents get the best out of kids’ online classes.
Bring Back “The Routine”: One of the best things about going to school is the discipline it inculcates in a child. Going to bed early and waking up early with a motive to get ready and perform in both academic and extracurricular aspects. With live kids classes being the new normal, it becomes important that parents make kids stick to their usual school routine.
Since online classes are attended at home it saves kids a lot of traveling time. Parents should not let that time go wasted in extra sleep. Wake the kids up at the usual time of school and spend some time working on physical fitness or meditation. Help them get ready and make sure they grab a bite before they get started with their live online classes.
Set the Station Right: Ergonomics is the key to efficiency. Parents should assess and analyze the workstation for their kids and ensure the perfect balance of comfort and productivity.
Make sure the chair is comfortable enough to be sitting for long durations. The worktop should be at the right height and have enough space to accommodate notebooks as well as the device for attending online classes. Keeping stationery and other essentials like water bottles and a healthy snack are just around the corner.
Pick the Right Device: No smartphones are not the option for attending online classes for kids. The screen size is too small and any incoming call will disrupt the child’s concentration as well as the live class. Properly research the latest available gadgets like a laptop or a widescreen tablet for online kids classes. Make sure they are durable, user friendly and have enough battery backup.
Another important point to remember is the anti-glare coating or screen. Although the maximum allowed duration for online classes is 3-4 hrs a day for kids yet you must make sure that their eyes are not strained.
Physical Presence Matters: Keep your kid’s company while they attend online classes and let them know that they are being watched. Kids are mercurial by nature and they have a short attention span. Their chain of thought can easily deviate from the ongoing classes and wander off to a world of wild imaginations. In the presence of parents, kids feel watched and thereby obligated to pay attention to what is being taught. Besides, your presence will help you to later interact and discuss their problems and experience of online classes.
Shields Up: The safety of children from the hazards of the internet is another issue that is noted not just by parents and teachers but also by UNICEF. Children attending live online classes have access to various internet platforms which include all sorts of unfiltered adult content. This has increased the risk of them being exposed to sexual exploitation more than the other forms of dangers present in the world of cybercrime. Ensure proper proxy networks that block adult content on the devices that are being used for online classes for kids. Monitor the web history before and after the classes and educate children about various threats present out there in the virtual world.
Communicate and Discuss: Maintain constant communication with children and ask them about their online learning experience. Ask your kids to make notes of all the problems they faced during the class. Make them take notes of points that they could not understand. Try to solve these problems by yourself and convey these issues to the teachers and school administration during parent-teacher meetings.
Encourage children to ask questions during their online classes and not hesitate. Discuss possible solutions with teachers and school administration to improve the output of online classes for kids.
Off-Screen Creativity: Overexposure to screens is harmful especially for young children. Encourage fun and creative activities like drawing, sketching, painting, crafts, reading, and writing to help kids unwind and be productive without a screen for once. While online kids’ classes provide them amazing opportunities of expanding their knowledge, they should not take away from the time for off-screen creativity.
Online classes for kids and virtual classrooms are here to stay for the foreseeable future. The schools may be about to open but the pandemic has proven to be a paradigm-shifting event in the field of education. With every passing moment, more and more teachers, schools, academies and institutions are going online. Piggyride is one platform where you will find a won’t variety of extracurricular activities being taught through online mediums.
Find the best online classes for your kids to develop, nurture and enhance an array of skills and talents in your children.
