Parents Describe How Virtual Learning Has Affected Their Young Children
By: Jailyn Mitchell
In just a few short months, the lives of many people around the world have been dramatically changed due to COVID-19. Currently, there are over 6.2 million confirmed cases in the United States alone and children make up 9.5 percent of those cases. Making it over half a million children who have contracted COVID-19. This infectious virus has caused worldwide closures of businesses and services, resulting in people's routines to come to a crashing halt; amongst those services were schools. After interviewing mothers whose children are learning online, they are able to give insight into their virtual learning experiences.
Initial Thoughts/Feelings of Virtual Learning
When asked about their initial thoughts and feelings of virtual learning, the mothers all reacted as other parents have, with fear and uncertainty.
Samantha Tuazon, a San Dimas mother described her nervousness and fear of the unknown of virtual learning,
“No matter what, I was going to have her distance learning because of COVID-19, but new things are scary and we weren't sure how things were going to be.”
Another California mother, Cassandra Heath, describes her worries of the change from regular school to distance learning negatively impacting her young daughter.
"Considering that we have never tried this form of schooling before, my concern was that she would not be able to focus and that the long hours of screen time would leave her tired and irritable.”
A mother of three from Canada was very opposed to virtual learning feeling as though she was not qualified to teach.
“I’m not a teacher and didn’t want to be.”
She explains it was important for her children to learn from peers, have social and physical interaction throughout the day separate from that of their home routines.
The Pros & Cons of Virtual Learning
Parents have found pros and cons to virtual learning. The pros range from adapting easier to schedules to finding a better learning style. The cons range from less social interaction or having a harder time getting out of bed for classes in the morning.
Moms have been setting up virtual playdates to bring normalcy to their children, whose socialization has been impacted.
Tuazon described the way her daughter has been able to stay connected with her friends through this pandemic.
"She has been able to face time her friends and keep connected and spend more time together than they usually would have during a normal busy week.”
Other parents are relieved that their child is no longer in a physical classroom setting. One of Tuazon's concerns was for the health of her daughter who is immunocompromised due to an autoimmune disease. Another found relief knowing her daughter would no longer be affected by persistent bullying at school. Though, moms who aren’t fond of distance learning hope physical school returns.