Regardless of how you feel about working from home, it’s been a big change for your children as well! This time last year, students of all ages would be socializing with friends on the bus, running around on the playground, playing sports, and have an overall normal sense of their day-to-day lives. With multiple hours of online schooling per day, there’s a decent likelihood that your little ones are suffering from Zoom Fatigue as well. Being on camera in front of your peers can be quite anxiety-inducing. While there’s little that can be done about the situation itself, there are certainly some things that you can do to make them feel more comfortable, while hopefully reducing some of the burden on yourself so you can be more productive, too.
Schedule breaks.
In a typical classroom setting, kids would have a rigid schedule, walk from classroom to classroom, and have designated periods of time to decompress. Just as it has with adults, logging into an e-classroom blurs the line between work and play. You can help them by setting up a daily schedule that they can follow so there isn’t much anxiety about what the next day will bring.
Set up their own desk.
While studying on the couch or carpet can be a good change of pace, it can be uncomfortable for extended periods of time. Once they’ve gotten comfortable in their desk, allow them to decorate it as they please! This will encourage them to spend more time at their desk since it will be a place that they’ll actually want to be at.
Get enough exercise.
Burning off excess energy allows your kiddos to be more attentive when it comes time to learn. Research shows that even 20 minutes of moderate exercise per day helps increase attention spans. With many schools canceling sports programs, this is exceptionally important. If you don’t have a backyard or it’s too cold outside, consider trying these activities to get moving inside.
Teach them to cook.
Cooking dinner at the end of a grueling day of work is a struggle within itself…now, toss in breakfast and lunch preparations as well. Rather than viewing this as an additional responsibility that takes away from your own productivity, consider this an opportunity for an important life skill. Depending on the age of your child, teach them how to make their favorite meal (within reason of course!).
This will give them an opportunity to take pride in learning a new skill. Take it one step further by giving them an opportunity to showcase their newly-discovered talents to make lunch for *you* once a week. Check out this list of 70 different recipes that your kids can make on their own.
Provide fidget toys.
Sitting in the same room day in and day out can be rather monotonous. If your kid is having trouble paying attention or is always wandering away from the computer, consider giving them several fidget toys that they can play with. Classic fidget spinners are just fine for doing Zoom calls, but when it comes to writing or reading they can become downright distraction. Consider getting your child a set of hedgehog pods or an under-the-desk rocker board. Both of these will encourage them to stay at their desk, but can also be used for exercises during their at-home recess.
Most importantly, be patient.
Understand that this is a challenging time for everyone, especially your children. Just like the rest of us, their world has been turned upside down in the past few months. Have daily check-ins with them and see how they’re emotionally handling the dramatic shift to online schooling. If your child is failing to complete assignments on time or is developing a less-than-ideal sleep schedule, take this as an opportunity to ask them what they need in order to get back on track.
We hope these tips will help make the transition to online schooling easier for you and your family! We’re constantly rolling out additional tutorials, helpful tips, and other resources to help you get the most out of your StrongTek products. Please subscribe to our newsletter to get our most recent articles delivered straight to your inbox. As a bonus, subscribers will receive exclusive offers and inside information about upcoming products.