4 reasons why Covid-19 has given children the opportunity to grow

In March earlier this year when the Government first put the UK into Lockdown, few of us could have imagined its impacts would still be being felt well into the summer and beyond. The virus has been relentless in how it has affected every single one of us, in one way or another, and whilst children are reported to be low on the list of getting ill from the virus, they have perhaps had more to contend with than most of us. 

As humans, our natural tendency is to avoid change because it can be uncomfortable. And for children who are still finding their way in the world, learning about what feels good and safe, and what doesn’t, Covid-19 has really thrown a spanner in the works. Overnight, out went the routine of getting up and dressed for school each day, following boundaries and developing social-skills as they navigate the complexities of the school playground, and in came home-schooling; a non-stop fight with the Wifi signal, the scramble for Zoom passwords and extended lunchtime play just to give Mum and Dad a 5-minute break. 

When I went to write this blog post, I thought of all the ways in which the Corona Virus has affected us not just financially, physically, academically, socially, emotionally, but mentally too. But if you’re reading this, you’ve probably already consumed your annual quota of useless, negative news. So instead, I think it’s more helpful to look at the opportunities this period has brought us and our children so that we can move forward knowing that things won’t just go back to normal, but will be better than they were before. 

Children learn through playing

How many of you started with a mapped out schedule for home-schooling, only to find it was not only ambitious, but ridiculous to think that your children would listen to you the same way they listen to their teachers? Whilst so many parents had the best intentions to turn their dining rooms into classrooms, I wouldn’t be so hasty to label it a disaster. The truth is, in the UK children start school much younger than they do in most other countries which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Not only that, but our summer holidays are shorter too, leaving children with much less time to spend on hobbies or with family. Yet, where home-schooling fell apart for many families during the 2020 lockdown, I would bet my bottom dollar that there was almost always some form of other vital learning taking place.

Children develop many important skills through playing (such as developing a sense of self-worth, building imagination and creativity and regulating emotions, to name a few) - something that our education system doesn’t allow for so much these days. The part of the brain that we need to process and take in information isn’t fully switched on until the age of about 7, so time away from the classroom and traditional learning may not be such a terrible thing. Children and parents have had to be creative in the way they spend their time at home, forcing us to try things we normally wouldn’t have time for, and re-connect with one another. So maybe 2020 was just meant to be the year for social and emotional learning; teaching compassion, kindness and humility as opposed to the times-tables and spellings?

Grades vs. Life Skills

It’s not uncommon for teenagers to leave school with the best grades, get into the best universities and still not know how to make anything other than beans on toast. Sadly, the emphasis our education system places on results in the core subjects means that other vital life skills are left by the wayside. The truth is, whilst this pandemic has been stressful beyond belief for most of us, our children are much more adaptable than we think and it’s likely that this period has given them a wealth of knowledge in other, more practical areas.

The children that I’ve been in contact with through my online classes have been excited each week to tell me things like they learned how to make scrambled eggs for their Dad’s breakfast, and they made bug hotels in the garden, decorated their bedrooms and baked cookies, bread and cakes. Here’s the thing

, we could sit here and list all of the experiences our children have missed out on because of Lockdown but in doing that, we risk dismissing the invaluable lessons they’ve learned just by living through a crisis and seeing that life still goes on and it’s the way we adapt to these challenges that matters.

Surviving difficulties + Navigating Challenges = Resilience

If you think about your biggest achievements in your life so far, they probably weren’t without hiccups and often, they may have even come directly from those hiccups. Hard times, loss and challenges teach us so much more than the easy life does. It’s from these challenges that we develop character, we build resilience and from that comes confidence and a renewed look at life and the things that truly matter. This can only be a positive thing for our children. It’s completely natural to want to protect them from hurt, fear, disappointment and uncertainty, but in doing that we threaten to completely undermine their understanding of the world and their interaction with it as they grow up. Of course there’s a limit to what children need to see and deal with, but it’s not necessarily bad for them to experience these emotions because they learn from them, especially when that learning is coupled with the love and safety you provide them with. 

Renewed look on life

Let’s face it, we’ve lived through a lot of trauma as a society (terrorism, climate change and growing distrust in the people running our country), to name a few. For many of us, this year has brought life as we knew it to a halt, forcing us to properly stop and re-evaluate the way we live. We’ve had no option but to step up and snap into action and knowing that we are all in this together has made our communities kinder and more accepting places to be.

We’re talking to our neighbours more, helping the most vulnerable, checking in on each other and truly valuing those special few hours when we get to see our nearest and dearest on the family Zoom on a Sunday.

And whilst this shift in perspective isn’t just benefiting us, it benefits our children, too. Children look up to and learn from the adults in their lives who love them, support them and make them feel safe.

What’s more is that our children learn a lot from us, just by observing and being around us. They see the way we treat people who can do nothing for us, how we take care of ourselves (including the way we talk to and about ourselves), and the role we play in our community. So you can be sure that your shift in living your life more compassionately and spending your time more mindfully and meaningfully has positively impacted your children in some way because they look to you for leadership. 

So as the Summer Holidays bring us all some much needed time to switch off and enjoy being outside and making new memories, rest assured that your children are a lot stronger, wiser and more resilient because of what this year has brought them. With a lot of worldly issues coming to a head in recent years, it seems we needed to stop to re-evaluate and start again on a more positive, compassionate footing. No one can tell what life will be like when ‘normal’ does finally return, but I’m confident it will look and feel much kinder and happier when it does. And who better to lead this revolution than our children who have truly felt and faced this challenge head on? (albeit with paintbrushes, rolling pins and lego pieces to hand)!

What positives are you taking away from this period of Lockdown? I’d love to know, so drop it in the comments below!