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LOL: How to keep children happily engaged this lockdown season

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Sayantan Ghosh
Sayantan GhoshMay 06, 2020 | 20:15

LOL: How to keep children happily engaged this lockdown season

The Delhi government has shown the way to how to make it happen.

In 2007, Aamir Khan and Darsheel Safary starrer, Taare Zameen Par, reminded us, “Har bachche ki apni khoobi hoti hai, apni kaabiliyat hoti hai (Each child has his own specialty, his own abilities).”

So many self-help books at the top of the bestseller charts tell us about the human quest to find that unique quality, that unique ability. With technological advancements having simplified lives in exchange for mental peace, more inspirational videos and online yoga classes have made their way into our lives. While this has been a huge relief and has definitely given some sense of balance to life today, it cannot be denied that only the privileged have access to it.

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It is important that education helps students find that balance. With this aim in mind, the Delhi government launched Happiness Curriculum in the state’s government schools in 2018. A large number of students in the government schools come from low-income families and lower middle-class families, so they have lesser access to contemporary happiness therapies. Since its launch in Delhi, the happiness curriculum has become very popular across India, and many states have adopted the concept.

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Classes have moved online since the lockdown kicked in. (Photo: Reuters)

Life, as we knew it, has changed drastically since the pandemic outbreak. As part of that change, schools have moved online. The government has moved even the happiness classes online. During these classes, experts talk, demonstrate and conduct various activities to boost happiness among students. The classes are not only helping children, but their parents too.

Mental health is a significant concern for both children and adults. The lockdown has heightened the risk of more people feeling depressed across the world. Children like outdoor activities and the virus struck India around the time when summer vacations were round the corner, which served as a double whammy for them.

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Since there is no other way to control the spread of the disease than enforce a lockdown, we have to find the best ways available to take care of the mental well-being of children, even as they remain indoors.

It is the responsibility of governments, schools and parents to help children by engaging them in mindful activities. It is also their responsibility to give them regular counselling to help them cope with the lockdown blues.

The happiness classes take place every day from 4-5 pm. These sessions are open to all and live streaming takes place on YouTube and Facebook. The government teachers who had been conducting these classes in schools over the past two years, are now conducting these classes online.

The Happiness Curriculum also got a global focus after US First Lady Melania Trump visited a Delhi government school to take part in a happiness class in February this year.

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Melania Trump in a Happiness Class during her India visit in February 2020. (Photo: Reuters)

A recent report published by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that the mental health burden is increasing for just about everyone. The study quoted a mid-March poll to claim that 32 per cent people polled said that worry and stress about coronavirus had a negative impact on their mental health. By late March, the number had risen to 45 per cent.

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While food and job security are important, governments both at the Centre and in states need to understand that this may not be enough to come out of the lockdown. India will need a robust plan focusing on the mental health issues of people, including children.

Children, especially, cannot stay under the endless uncertainty about their studies and careers for a long time. But merely opening schools will not help their morale. Amid the uncertainty that prevails, we don’t even know how long it will take for the return of things to normal and children to school. It is thus very important that their fears are allayed and concerns addressed so that they are better prepared to handle the changes on the way.

The Bois Locker Room incident is still making headlines. This may not be an incident directly related to the lockdown, but it does underline the importance of keeping young minds constructively occupied.

The Delhi government has taken a step in that direction. The hope is more will join.

Last updated: May 06, 2020 | 20:15
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