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today's child

mental health, a few things to look out for
include: change in mood, tiredness, anger
outbursts, secretive behaviour and signs of
self-harming.

• You are part of the team: Some of
the challenges facing you may seem
overwhelming, but other people are
facing them too. Learn to draw from each
other’s strengths and build each other up
when you can. Your team is broader than
your home. Your team includes friends,
family, school community and anyone who
has demonstrated a similar approach to
building a future, despite the constraints.
The COVID-19 situation has been a shared,
traumatic experience for individuals,
families and communities, as well as
nations. There is a need to process and
understand what has happened. We need
this understanding so that we may grieve
device and then have to sit doing nothing to engage in the dialogue around returning the losses that the family and community
exciting or engaging. to school and continuing our lives. We also have experienced. This will enable us to
need to remember that children are a lot work together in finding a way forward. For
In teens, the dominance of electronics since more resilient than we are as adults. They healing to occur, we need to unpack the
lockdown has been staggering. It is more adapt to change (wearing masks and social conversation concerning our experiences
difficult to assist them in moderating their distancing) quickly and learn to put their and build connections. This should be
screen time, as their devices have become best foot forward to continue having fun. done whilst being mindful that individual
the only way to communicate and socialise experiences are unique and no one view
with friends. While devices have played a • Concerning behaviour: When some- is more important. Moving forward and
vital role, the problem comes when teens thing big happens in our lives, it is tempting growing through these experiences
are spending the majority of their day to see everything in that context. Contrary is possible despite everything that is
online. We need to realise that children to popular belief not everything can be happening. The way in which we create
and teens cannot self-regulate their online blamed on COVID. Concerning behaviour spaces for growth and movement is in how
behaviour or screen time. This is something is still concerning behaviour, despite it we talk about things. We need to talk in
that needs to be taught and role-modelled. occurring during COVID times. Poor/bad ways that promote our moving forward,
behaviour still needs boundaries and that promote the future and all the things
Whether it is IG, Fortnite, TikTok, Funimate, discipline, perhaps even more so during we are striving for.
Roblox or the likes, the online world COVID times because discipline provides
is not the real world. We can motivate children with security. In other words, Certainly, there are obstacles, but by
according to our own perspectives, use even though things are upside down in focusing less on the obstacles and more on
these unprecedented times as an excuse my world, “...Mom and Dad still have rules the journey to overcome them, we create
and find all the supporting evidence we that remain constant therefore my life is the reality in which the obstacles will be
want to, so as to explain away why we still stable and I am ‘safe’. ” On the side of overcome!
are allowing such extended screen time.
However, the reality is we live in the real
world, promoting an ‘avatar existence’ is
problematic. Fostering online identities
which go unchecked or unbalanced with
the real-world experiences is seeding
problems for the future.

• Safer at home: At the start of the
lockdown, we pushed the 'safer at home'
discourse. Now we are asked to buy into
the 'school is safe' narrative. As an adult,
this 360-degree shift is difficult to work
with, now imagine how a child processes
this. The international research community
appears confident in their advice regarding
returning to school. I am a parent and I also
feel the pull towards keeping my girls at
home where they are 'safe and virus-free'.
As a psychologist (and a parent), I remind
myself that attending school is normal.
Interacting with peers, debating issues,
making and not making the soccer team,
and wearing a school uniform are all normal
things to do. In a time when so much has
been eroded away, we need to at least try

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