While online classes are helping children to study and stay connected to their education despite the COVID-19 pandemic, some parents and teachers are worried that in the long term, overexposure to the internet during the lockdown can be dangerous for children.
" Since the lockdown, my children are spending at least six to seven hours every day in front of computer screens due to their online classes, and then to find some study material on Google. I cannot even say anything because we cannot help them in every subject and they need the internet. My daughter is getting headaches and even back pain due to study through the internet. I hope the situation will improve soon to enable resumption of regular schools," said local resident Deepa Gusain. Some parents also stated that while using the internet to study, children are opening several irrelevant sites of violent games, videos and other material that might mentally harm them. Many teachers also expressed the concern about children spending more time with computer and mobile phones. “I understand that there is a potential danger for children, especially young students who are new to the internet. Since there is currently no other way of teaching children besides online classes, parents have to be careful about what their children watch and search on internet. If the children remain in lockdown being overexposed to internet, it can severely affect their mental health," said a teacher Priyanka Garg.
Some experts advise parents to create a positive ambiance at home and to have a proper conversation with their children during the lockdown. Parents need to have an optimistic outlook in front of children at home before having an age-appropriate conversation with them, said Dehradun based neuropsychologist, Dr Sona Kaushal Gupta. According to her, anxiety and stress are contagious and children can easily be affected by the behaviour of their parents.
Talking about children spending more time online, she said that parents should be aware of what their children are watching and exploring online. Last week, some children committed suicide during the lockdown apparently due to trivial reasons.
Speaking on this Dr Gupta said that children are emotionally sensitive these days and any kind of aggravation by parents can hurt their self-esteem. Children do not commit suicide due to trivial reasons but mostly due to stress which they fail to cope with at that time. Therefore, parents need to maintain an optimistic and happy environment as it really impacts the children, she added.