Safe Learning:
With the digital age of this millennium, kids ought to grow up as smart kids in this smart age. While their exposure is increasing and so is there potential to achieve knowledge earlier. But the challenge is that children’s vulnerability to threatening sources or misleading means to knowledge is also high. Parenting should hence ensure that when their kids are browsing on the net or googling the web, they do not land on any platform which is unsafe or inappropriate for their age. Parenting guidance and mums sitting beside while kids are re-searching online will not only render support and involvement from you but also remain a silent watch on the kid’s activities. While there is no escape from digital learning, yet the benefits of traditional learning should also be merged, for old is gold.
Healthy Learning:
Research indicates that e-learning is not only stressful but harmful too.
It is to be taken care of that long-time exposures to screens of any electronic gadgets are not tiring only for their eyes, but they influence the development of many cells, and tissues within a developing child’s’ body as they are restricted from being physically active. Lack of body movement, poor sitting postures, light effects can affect the overall health of kids in terms of their concentration, vision, muscle development, and appetite.
Too much on a small plate:
Traditional learning methods restricted learners from a few sources. While they worked on developing ideas and then influencing the imagination of the kids. However, in modern learning, everything is available everywhere. The sources of information are large and wide regardless of how relevant and authentic they are. Mounting competition besides academic curriculum adds to the burden on little shoulders to drag them all. Parents should hence stop concerning on what other children and parents do or participate in. A wiser approach would be to understand the potentials, interests, and capabilities of our own children and then engage them in such activities. It is important that kids’ interests are valued and not a neighbour or their children.
Math and Science with song and dance:
Be it academic institutions or the parents, guardians should foster additional activities to bring out the hidden artists, dancers, singers, athletes besides engineers, doctors, and scientists. There cannot be one best-fit approach to learning and teaching for all. Likewise, there cannot be a world only with professions and no sport or entertainment or the other way. Thankfully, we are in an era where opportunity is equally distributed. So identifying the best needs of kids and then guiding them towards it should be a practice.
24 Hours Tick- Tock:
Technology has demanded speed in the pace of growth, learning, and productivity, unfortunately, it could not extend the 24 hours on the clock. So it is important that this speed does not come in the way to kids’ physical and mental development. A healthy brain requires sufficient sleep, good work and exercise to ensure that an uncompromising physical fitness is maintained. For a sound sleep let children sway into the dreams of their imagination. So avoiding Facebook, WhatsApp and/or a technological distraction would help you to engage in storytelling, warm cuddles and a humming lullaby to ensure kids sleep safe and tight dreaming big.
Play:
There is certainly nothing best to do than playing with your children. It is investing in health and cheers. Well playing not on PS4 or anything including technology. The play could rather be outdoor like running, sport, swimming, etc or indoor brain-stimulating traditional games like Chess, Business or Ludo.
Learning can also be made playful and interactive. l by merging it into everyday activities. For instance, while cooking cut vegetables into pieces and ask your little one to count as you cut. You can ask your children to touch the color and/ or shape as you dictate them. Precisely there are lots of way to stay connected in your kids’ activities, all it takes is little effort and little innovation.
Time to ponder over:
Deprived attention from parents, lack of interaction with peers/siblings, poor facilities to play with friends can have a long term toll on the emotional state of a growing child. They create stress leading to unexplained distraction in kids. The worst part is that kids are often understood as being poor at studies. Arrogance is also extended from agony.
It is often threatening as the adverse effects of this negligence do not reveal themselves overnight. They mount over gradually on the mental state of a child having detrimental effects within. It is hence parental and teachers’ responsibility to realize them and get them right before it is too late. While changing times, enhanced technology is influencing the learning needs of children an extra mile effort from parents can make this way lot easy and fun for kids.