My daughter doesn’t want to attend in-person classes. Her school day begins early. Pre-pandemic she would wake up at 6 a.m to catch the school bus. But with schools offering the option of online classes, she insists it is better. She is in class VIII, and I believe it’s important for her to attend offline school. How do I get her out of the lethargy that has set in during the past 16 months of schools closure? — Divyasree Raju, Chennai

While several children are thrilled at the prospect of returning to on-campus schooling, meeting friends, interacting with teachers and enjoying real life experiences, there are some who are hesitant to step back into normalcy. It could be a combination of lethargy and reluctance to face the real world and its accompanying pressures. As a parent, you need to coax her into understanding that in-class education is important and beneficial for her all-round growth and development. A starting point would be to encourage her to attend school twice or thrice a week. You could also request her class teacher to persuade and reassure her.

Moreover it’s important to address any fears she has about attending school. The post-pandemic world has its own stress and challenges. She needs your patience and understanding to transition into in-class learning.

My son gained a lot of body weight during the lockdown. Now that school has started, his friends are making fun of him, and he doesn’t like it. How can I help him? — Shilpa Diva, Bengaluru

Twenty months of work-from-home, online school coupled with sedentary lifestyles and unmindful eating have left not just children but also adults, overweight. With pandemic stress high, many people turned to food for emotional comfort. On-demand delivery of fast food became a way of life for many families countrywide during the lockdown.

You need to support your son and have zero tolerance for any type of bullying and body shaming by peers. My suggestions:

• Transition the family to a healthier lifestyle of home cooked meals to reduce high sugar and fatty foods in the daily diet.
• Encourage your son to become physically active and take up a team sport. Physical exercise also releases endorphins — feel-good hormones.
• Counsel your child to not take his friends’ comments to heart and laugh them off. This usually makes bullies lose interest.
• Highlight and praise his strengths and achievements to boost his self-esteem. This will also give him the confidence to make new friends.
• Encourage two-way communication and heart-to-heart conversations.
• Moreover you need to be vigilant about the level of bullying and if it becomes aggravated, report it to the class teacher and school counselor.

My daughter is an introvert and reticent. How can I boost her social skills? — Manvi Shah, Mumbai

You have not disclosed the age of your daughter. Nevertheless, for children of all ages school is an important place for socialisation where children learn to interact with peers and adults i.e, teachers. The past 20 months of schools closure to check the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic has been difficult for children who have had limited opportunities for socialisation. Now as schools reopen, allow her time and space to build inter-personal skills and relationships slowly. You could also enrol her in a sports or extra-curricular activity class which while enabling her to develop a new skill will also provide a platform for interaction with peers.

Most important, never feel ashamed or apologise to others for your child’s personality. Understand and respect her uniqueness and support her to blossom into the best version of herself.

(Dr. Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi is a parenting coach, founder – Get Set Parent, and vice-president, Early Childhood Association of India)

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