• Replies 16 replies
  • Subscribers 70 subscribers
  • Views 2915 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Effect of Pandemic

Homebird

Hi. My son has always struggled with understanding and other things in school, but up until the first lockdown when he was in year 7 he managed to get there. Homework has always been a challenge.

When lockdown started and all the work was at home and lots of reading and understanding, until later there were some live lessons, it was often too much. During the first lockdown and summer even going outdoors was a challenge. So when they returned to school going in was often for parts of days, sometimes whole days and other days it was too much.

As time went on he gradually became more confident going out, but getting into school most days has been a challenge for him. When he makes it I often sense the struggle he goes through to get there.

I know I will never know the answer, but I wonder if things would have been any easier now without that time not in school. I think for his wellbeing the time at home helped.

I would be interested to hear of other people's experiences.

Parents

  • Hi, I personally miss the lockdown quite a lot at times- It was peaceful and I still got to go to the lab (I am a scientist) to run experiments but I did not have to do desk work from there which was great (plus no pressure to socialise or having to find a reason to avoid joint breaks/lunch etc- I did really like my colleagues though so I think I would have liked to spend more time with them though). I also realised I very much like online forms of socialising (eg. phone calls or video calls) and I prefer that over in person a lot of the time. I never met up with groups of people anyways so that was fine for me too and I love going for walks with people so when that was allowed it was a win-win for me too. However, I did also feel quite lonely during the second lockdown (I think possibly because of how/where I was living), though I am not sure it would have been much different without the lockdown. I loved the quiet on the streets as well when I did go out. 

    School can be tough- it was for me. The challenge of it is probably even more noticable after a time away from it. Plus any change in routine is difficult anyways. But I think it is very important to have time to recuperate from things like school. I always barely made it from vacation to vacation. Odly though now that I am older and love my job I have the issue of finding weekends/days away from work very very hard to cope with... I think maybe due to the change in routine... not sure .

  • in reply to Ann :)

    Personally I agree with your thoughts on lockdown and preferring calls although occasionally missing having brief casual conversations in passing, but don't miss the forced socializing. I too liked the walks in the quiet.

    I find it hard at times when the week changes from routine of work to a fairly free time. I look forward to having time to do things then it all feels an effort. I guess this is similar to my son's experience.

  • in reply to Homebird

    Hi, I am in a similiar situation. My son had a huge "reset of anxiety" during lockdown that he enjoyed. Getting out of the lockdown has been extremely stressful also because it was full of changes and strange new rules, masks on/off, plastic curtains etc.. Now there are things he used to do that he still cannot face like public transports (but only those of our own town), school is a major issue although he is going to a very soft version of it (not strict, inclusive philosphy, focused on emotional development..). I also share part of the lockdown effects you describe personally but start to think my son has a different perception of time that adds to his coping problems. He does not seem to think in terms of past, present and future. Time context does not seem natural nor logic.. he seems to rely on causality and sequences but not time as such. Any thoughts on that?

  • in reply to Homebird

    That sounds good indeed! I am glad he is getting motivated. It could be that the source of motivation external vs internal is a key aspect. Looking at other kids, especially young ones I often notice their main source of motivation is external while internal motivation requires a very different setting. 

    As for the planing I see it is largely cultural, when I lived in the Netherlands any social encounter had to be planned weeks in advance whereas in Spain it only takes minutes. When other's planning timescale interferes with ours I ask for rescheduling saying I am not availble at that time without explanations. It usually works well. 

Reply
  • in reply to Homebird

    That sounds good indeed! I am glad he is getting motivated. It could be that the source of motivation external vs internal is a key aspect. Looking at other kids, especially young ones I often notice their main source of motivation is external while internal motivation requires a very different setting. 

    As for the planing I see it is largely cultural, when I lived in the Netherlands any social encounter had to be planned weeks in advance whereas in Spain it only takes minutes. When other's planning timescale interferes with ours I ask for rescheduling saying I am not availble at that time without explanations. It usually works well. 

Children
No Data