5 Ways to Help Children Cope with Anxiety during COVID-19 Outbreak

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has shaken the entire world by infecting lakhs of people across the globe and taking thousands of lives so far. This deadly disease has boggled everyone with stress and anxiety, which has led to people having mental health problems. This pandemic has created a stressful situation and it is the moral responsibility of every parent and family member to take care of the younger ones. The Heritage School, the top ICSE School in Dehradun, is discussing five ways to help children cope with anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak.

ü      During this time of confinement, children may respond to stress or anxiety in different ways, such as by getting angry, or anxious. As a parent, please respond to your child's reactions in a supportive way, and give them extra love and attention.

ü   Tell your children why it is not wise to go out of the house. If separation occurs due to hospitalization, contact them regularly via phone only.

ü      During difficult times, children need love and extra attention from the elder ones. So, please give them extra time and remember to listen to your children actively with interest. Also, speak to them kindly and make time for the child to play and relax.

ü      Try to make your children follow regular routines and schedules to keep them healthy and fit, and create new opportunities for them to learn at home for their overall growth and development.

ü     If necessary, share the facts and information related to COVID-19 depending on your child's age and understanding level. Scaring off the kids with too much information is not recommended.

The Heritage School, the top school in Dehradun, advises all the parents to take care of themselves and their children by following the guidelines provided by WHO, local health officials, and government during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Source - https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-emergencies/coronavirus-school-closures

Coronavirus Outbreak in 2020

We have all been hearing of Coronavirus and its outbreak a lot these days. But do you know what it is, and how this epidemic happened? Being one of the best ICSE schools in Dehradun, we believe everyone ought to know about this disease so read on to know more.

Coronaviruses are just like any other virus but very large in number, which can cause illness in humans and animals. The most recently discovered coronavirus is COVID-19. Like any other coronaviruses, it has come from animals.

COVID-19 virus’s outbreak first began in December 2019, in Wuhan, China. And now it has affected over 80,000 people globally.

Symptoms of COVID-19

The most common symptoms are dry cough, tiredness, fever, and breathing problems. It can even cause pneumonia. During the early stage, the symptoms are mild but intensify gradually. There have been a few cases where people were found infected, but they didn't experience any symptoms as such previously. People who already have medical issues and older people are more likely to develop critical illness from this virus.

Precautions

This deadly virus usually spreads from respiratory droplets expelled by someone who is coughing. So take care of the following things:

• Prefer wearing a mask if you are planning to travel especially if you are going out of the country.

• Get a full-body check-up if you have returned from a tourist place. There could be the slightest chance of getting infected.

• Wash your hands properly and use sanitizer regularly. 

• Maintain distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.

• Make sure the people around you maintain respiratory hygiene by covering their mouth and nose while coughing and sneezing. 

• Stay at home if you feel unwell. And if you have any of the symptoms mentioned above, do consult a doctor. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

• Stay informed with the latest updates on COVID-19 and do follow the guidelines by the WHO. 

So here was the basic information about an epidemic that caused a lot of chaos worldwide, especially in China. The Heritage School, the leading ICSE school in Dehradun, hopes you stay safe and healthy. 

Importance of Sports in School

We stay in a generation where kids are more engrossed in computers, tabs, video games and in a virtual world which is gradually harming the physical and mental health of children. Sports and outdoor activities are slowly vanishing away and parents are quite worried about their kids being inactive. Heritage School, the top school in Dehradun encourages sports activities for students to perform and participate for the same. Conducting sports activities can benefits children in a variety of ways.

Maintenance of Good Health and Fitness

Indulged in sports activities, students can stay fit and fine at a young age. Reduce the risk of many health-related problems. Also, it helps the student to have good fitness and stay slim by burning the fats they intake. 

Engage Discipline

Inculcating quality of discipline is a lifelong asset. Engaging in sports activity builds discipline quality as they have to be on time in the field for practice, follow the rules and sports, lets the students set their own goals and achieve them.

Improved Sleep

While playing any sports in school, it requires a lot of energy, hard work and strength to play. It makes them tired and makes them sleep faster and deeper. Sleeping well will keep them healthy and active. 

Better Academics

While playing any sports, it has been observed that students have an enhancement in memory and cognitive function. Sports activities also make them sharper and excel at academics. 

Getting Socially Connected

Social connection is vital in today’s world for any growing individual. Participating in sports regularly helps you build social networks with people around as the students go for tournaments, whether district-level, state-level or national-level.

Enhance the Teamwork and Leadership Qualities

Making sports as part of a regular regime will help the students to amplify their teamwork and leadership skills. Additionally, it also helps in other group projects in school. Leading any team is a tough job to perform as the leader has to keep every team member together in unity.

Playing sports will make the students them initiators and leaders not just academically but also outside school.  Heritage School, listed as one of the best ICSE schools in Uttarakhand, incorporates sports in the daily academic schedule to make them physically and mentally fit.

Importance of Life Skills

Life skills refer to a set of basic skills acquired through learning and/or direct life experiences that enable individuals and groups to effectively handle issues and problems commonly encountered in daily life. These skills are essential for survival as they help in dealing effectively with the events and challenges of everyday life. The Heritage School, one of the best ICSE schools in Dehradun, explains the essential life skills and their importance.

Communication

This broadly describes the skills needed to get on and work with other people, and particularly to transfer and receive messages either in writing or verbally. An individual who is well-versed in this life skill comes out with a strong personality.

Decision-Making

Good decision-making is not only one of the most important life skills, but also a great leadership quality. This describes the skills required to understand problems, find solutions to them, alone or with others, and then take action to address them.

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness refers to the ability of an individual to be conscious of one’s feelings and character. Being self-aware not only helps to be clear-headed and in control of emotions but also keeps a person grounded. Self-awareness is an important aspect in the development of emotional intelligence.

Cooperation

Cooperation is the ability to work in a group or an organization to attain common goals. It enables you to get along well with others and also helps in developing qualities like teamwork and leadership. When working in a group, it is important to cooperate with others to maintain healthy relations with them so that tasks are completed smoothly and goals accomplished.

Students have the ability and the knowledge, but to be able to convert it to appropriate actions when needed can be done through the help of life skills. Keeping this in mind, The Heritage School, the top school in Dehradun, suggests including life skills in the school curriculum.

Importance of a Good Library in the School

A school is a place where a child learns all his knowledge for life. While curriculum books are there for the child to gain age appropriate knowledge, still a child can’t be and shouldn’t be limited to these books alone. Heritage School, one of the top 5 schools in Dehradun, Believes it is imperative for a school to have a library with an extensive collection of books from all genres and subjects. The benefits to be had from a library are numerous.

A Library has Books Based on the Curriculum Prescribed in the School

Books based on the syllabi, which are assigned to the students, present students with different perspective and insights on the subject than presented by the books already part of their curriculum. This deepens their understanding of the subject and they are able to assimilate knowledge better.

It also has Books on Fiction

These books encourage reading habit in children, enhance their intellect and memorizing abilities. Moreover, they also make children more creative.

A Place that Encourages Study

The peaceful environs of a library encourage the students to study. Moreover, students are further encouraged to study by watching other students studying.

A Library Urges Target Based Study

With fixed time available to finish the book, the students learn to complete their studies in a fixed period of time.

It Encourages Students to Discover their Interests

With books on a vast variety of topics available, children discover what they like to read. The role of the librarian is also significant in this case.

A Library Instills a Habit

Going to the library to gain knowledge is a great habit to develop for life for the students.

It Assists the Students in Projects, Researches, etc.

A well-equipped library assists to prepare the students for their school projects, researches, and various declamation and debate competitions.

It Diverts Students away from Digital Devices

With the use of digital devices everywhere, it is imperative that the student learns to read from printed books. With time this might be lost and libraries help to preserve just that.

The importance of a library can never be emphasized enough.

Getting Back To School After Vacation

Kids enjoy the holiday season more than anything. A break from the monotonous schedule is all they want. But returning to school after an extended break can leave you filled with dread and anxiety. The transition can either be smooth or bumpy, depending on the frame of mind of the child during the vacation.

The Heritage School, one of the best ICSE schools in Dehradun brings you a few tips to help you prepare your kid for school after a refreshing vacation:

Make a Planner

A planner will help you schedule better. It helps you stay on track to get important pre chores done. Checking a to-do list each day, at the very least, reminds you of upcoming deadlines. Scheduling systems that prioritize your projects help you get to the most important projects first. You tend to not miss on tasks when working with a planner.

Check Homework

Students are assigned with a certain set of tasks and projects for the holiday season. Mark a check whether your child has completed it or not. You don’t want your child to enter the school with incomplete homework. Also, see if you can help your child with some improvements but make sure your child does the work all by work on his/her own.

Talk it Out

Your kid might feel lazy or even sad by the thought of going back to school after the vacation. Talk to them about making new friends and joining clubs that are available or subjects they like to learn more about. If your child enjoys sports, then this can also be something positive to bring up, something that they can look forward to participating in. This will be on their minds before school starts.

The Heritage School, top school in Dehradun suggests you better prepare your kids before going to school to give them a kick start and make it easy for them to return to school.

Aspects of Emotional Intelligence

Our emotional intelligence affects the quality of our lives because it influences our behavior. The holistic development of a child requires him/her to be not just academically and physically strong, but to be intellectually sound as well. Emotional intelligence helps a child in improving the reasoning and social skills, and thus counts a lot in the overall advancement of a child.

The Heritage School, one of the best ICSE Schools in Dehradun, brings to you the essential aspects of emotional intelligence that need to be inculcated:

Self-awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to label, recognize, and understand your own emotions. It enables the students to tune in to their feelings and direct negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, and sadness in a positive direction. Recognizing the emotional states and how they affect the thoughts, behaviors, and decisions is the key to cultivating self-awareness.

Empathy and Compassion

Empathy refers to the ability of an individual to understand and share the feeling of others. When we empathize with others, we develop meaningful relationships. Empathy is how you recognize why people feel the way they do. Developing empathy skills enhances our experiences, relationships, and a general understanding of ourselves, other people, and the world around us. This, in turn, gives a better chance of handling life situations.

Motivation

Motivation may be defined as the internal force of an individual which enables him/her to work positively and constantly towards the set goals. Motivation is characterized by three factors-direction, intensity, and persistence. A motivated individual is self-driven and can handle situations better. He/she can also serve as a team leader.

The Heritage School, one of the best ICSE schools in Uttarakhand, understands the importance of emotional intelligence, and thus includes it in the curriculum.