January 08, 2021 – 1:33 pm Clock
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Berlin (dpa) – A day without school or daycare. Without meeting the circle of friends. Without sports and other leisure activities. A day like this can get really long.
For most children and adolescents in Germany this is currently everyday life. How difficult the situation is for them – there is no general answer to this question. Because it depends on various factors: on the personality of the individual, on the age and the environment, especially the family.
Children show behavioral problems
Psychology professor Silvia Schneider from the Ruhr University Bochum and a research group examined how the first lockdown in spring affected children of preschool age. Their result: a third of them showed behavioral problems in some form, were more irritable or slept worse than normal. “But a large part of them managed to do this well with their families,” says the psychologist.
The situation is particularly problematic for the children, who receive little support at home anyway. And it’s not just about taking lessons at the kitchen table, it’s about taking care of things in general: for example, talking to the child about the situation, making sure that they eat healthily and exercise enough.
“We have cases in which children have gained 30 kilos since the beginning of the pandemic,” reports pediatrician Jakob Maske, spokesman for the Berlin professional association of paediatricians. There are also more children with anxiety disorders, so his impression and that of his colleagues. Mask would like to see a greater balance between the measures to combat infection and their effects on children – even if their consequences for Germany cannot yet be proven statistically.
The situation hits young people particularly hard
The situation is particularly difficult for young people. Meeting in groups is currently not possible. Dealing with different friends plays a major role in this discovery phase, explains psychologist Schneider. “At this age, it is an important development task to break away from the familiar family environment.”
The Hamburg child and youth psychiatrist Michael Schulte-Markwort calls on young people to be particularly lenient if they fail to adhere to certain corona rules. For them, the group has an outstanding status, is a “vehicle for autonomy and self-discovery”, said Schulte-Markwort.
The extent to which (primary school) children lack face-to-face teaching depends very much on their personality, says the child and youth psychiatrist. For some children, learning in large classes means stress: “For them, school is not primarily a stressful place to learn, but also a social place.” Homeschooling is more relaxed for these students.
Expert advocates individual solutions
Schulte-Markwort hopes that the pressures of the pandemic situation will change the educational landscape in the long term. “The sign of the times is: individualization. We have to look much more closely at which child needs what.” He has a flexible model in mind, in which some only come to school every other week and otherwise study digitally at home. At the same time, the children who need it receive daily classroom lessons – individual solutions.
Education expert Myrle Dziak-Mahler would also have wished for specific models for educational institutions: “Schools need more leeway in which they can make decisions about their own situation.” So everyone knows best for themselves which concept works for them – within a given framework. What kind of school is it? How is the social environment? How much personal attention do the students need? How are school and teaching staff set up digitally?
In addition, Dziak-Mahler criticizes the renewed school closings as “unnecessarily unprepared”. The President of the Child Protection Association, Heinz Hilgers, expressed similar criticism: “More planning and better preparation is necessary.” Children and parents need “reliable messages”.
“School is a social place, a place to live,” says Dziak-Mahler. For many children it is therefore a great loss not being able to go. Parents should primarily use the time together to talk to children about the current situation, to accompany them – and to worry less about possible deficits in terms of content. Psychologist Schneider adds: “It is important for children to recognize that the situation is challenging for everyone – and that we can do it together.” If that succeeds, it can be a good learning experience: I can shape and master a difficult situation.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210108-99-945031 / 2
Source: DPA
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