The lockdown measures have turned the world topsy-turvy for everyone, including for children and teenagers. Suddenly, they have to keep up with school from home and are no longer allowed to hang out with their friends. It’s important to try to ensure that these drastic changes don’t damage the well-being of children and teens, says education expert Nadine Engels.
The research of Nadine Engels, professor in education sciences, focuses on teachers’ training and professional development, the well-being of teenagers and teachers, and diversity and equal opportunity in education. Below are her five tips for parents to keep children and teenagers motivated during these difficult times.
1. Encourage teenagers to set goals
Teenagers need challenges that keep them motivated. Setting a goal for ourselves and succeeding in that goal after all contributes to our well-being. So encourage teenagers to commit to achieving a project, whether a creative, social or athletic one.
2. Stimulate teens to set these goals with others
Our well-being also depends on the feeling of being connected with others. Succeeding in a goal together with their friends will reduce teenagers’ feelings of isolation. It will also create a stronger mutual bond than simply exchanging messages with friends does.
3. Create a day and week schedule for teenagers
It may prove tempting to let one part of the day morph into another one until everything becomes one long, boring blur. But this will also mean there’s no longer anything for teens to look forward to and nothing to function as a reward, which in turn may create feelings of dejection. So be sure to schedule time for studying but to also plan fun moments that children can look forward to.
4. Don’t pass on your fear
Children who are around parents who behave anxiously and panicky may involuntarily pick up these feelings themselves. It’s why you should try to control your verbal and non-verbal communication, and not overly dramatise the current situation. We need to ensure that children don’t feel unsafe and teenagers anxious when this is all over.
5. Apply structure if the school doesn’t
Some schools may struggle after the Easter holiday to structure and plan their online teaching offer as well as they would under normal conditions. It’s naturally discouraging for children to have to get through an unstructured heap of information. You can help children by dividing up their assignments into smaller, more manageable ones and by drawing up a schedule to get through the study materials.
How well have you heeded your own advice the past few weeks?
“I definitely try to structure my day and I also make sure I have things to look forward to. I’ll for instance treat myself to an hour-long, online museum visit. I have more than enough work challenges to keep me motivated, but if we’re all forced to stay inside for many more weeks, I might just have to come up with a big project for our garden. That also counts as a challenge, no?”