Hyderabad: Covid scenario makes it hard for tiny tots

Hyderabad: For kindergarten kids, playschools are their first step to the formal and social world. But due to the pandemic, they remained shut increasing the worries of parents. Psychologists say short-term and long-term impact would show in children. While mostly it has led them to keep aloof with reality, some already got addicted to the digital world.

Outside their cocooned home environment, they socialise among children of their age, similar interests, likes and dislikes. As play schools are shut in view of Covid, their social and physical isolation at this developmental stage is causing a deep effect on them, feel many parents and psychologists.

According to Dr Purnima Nagaraja, a mental health professional, said that there are several stages for development in Sigmund Freud and Erikson's theories and many child psychologists speak of the same process. However, these psychological stages of development are delayed now and hampered with. For example, toilet training, as kids are dependent on their parents now and disturbing the pattern of routine. An individual gets fixated at certain stages, it tampers with their self-esteem, social behaviour and aggression in the near future.She felt that the prolonged confinement at home and addiction to gadgets can affect the kids' cognitive power, attention span, intelligent quotient leading up to psychosocial and mental health implications, which could be both short-term and long-term.

"In the relaxed atmosphere of the playschools, children are drawn to many activities like colouring, singing, dancing and playing games, which are now lacking. Also, when kids go to school it gives a short break to their mother which is necessary but now a days parents are exhausted and give gadgets to their kids to distract them, which is not a healthy parenting style." said Nagaraja, adding that kids are over-dependent on a mother. It is affecting their (kids) independent behaviour, classroom behaviour in the long term.

Nagaraja said kids between three-six years of age need emotional gratification through various means. The pandemic has put restrictions on social behaviour and other healthy play, learning and psychological activities which, if not restored, will cause frustration, anger and deviant behaviour that will reflect in the child's psychological process and can cause damage.

Usha Pant, who teaches nursery classes at a private playschool, said, "those kids who were supposed to take admission in the playschool but could not do so due to the pandemic have suffered the most because of the activities undertaken for them in the school cannot be replicated at home or through online. It might have in some measure stunted their mental development."

Vaishnavi, a parent, said that she lost some creative personal space as the priority shifted to her kid. But the bigger impact has been on the kids becoming undisciplined. As they spend most of the time at home, their routine has gone haywire. Secondly, they are not as forthcoming socially. Thirdly, it's really hard on working parents.

Nagaraja said parents need to look out for manifestations of behavioral problems in kids early on so that they can find the remedy.