While some families conducting online learning due to COVID-19 have adjusted to the change, we'd like to share mental health related advice for parents and children who are experiencing difficulty. For advice about your child's learning please contact your teacher or school.

As parents juggle online learning with other pressures caused by COVID-19, they may experience feelings of overwhelming stress and helplessness.

On top of their usual roles in a child’s healthy development, many parents are supervising children’s online learning – while balancing work commitments, the financial pressures of income loss, and caring for the emotional states of their household members.

It’s important for parents to realise that it is OK to sometimes struggle to support your children – and for children to observe this struggle, as it illustrates that life is not always perfect.

Keeping your expectations realistic can help you and your family cope.

Will your child’s learning be impacted?

Expert advice suggests parents need not worry that their child will be disadvantaged if their family experiences difficulty with online learning.

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Chairman Laureate Professor John Hattie says students who missed schooling due to the 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch and 2005’s Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans caught up quickly after they returned to the classroom – in fact overall test results went up.

Professor Hattie also points out that Australia has the longest school year and school day of any country in the world, his advice being that parents don’t need to stress if their child’s online learning during COVID-19 doesn’t go perfectly.

For specific advice about your child’s particular learning needs, it’s important to speak to your school.

Managing expectations around learning

If online learning becomes stressful, consider the following:

• Children’s cognitive capacity – that is the amount of information their brain can hold – may already be reaching capacity, as they navigate a new way of learning and living, and experience feelings of worry or uncertainty.
• If access to the online platform is problematic, it might impact children’s enthusiasm to learn.
• Online platforms may lack the non-verbal communication cues some children rely on when learning; focussing only on the verbal cue of speech requires focused attention and can fatigue the brain earlier. In addition, viewing multiple people on screen requires multi-tasking which can be tiring and distracting for children.

If the above potential issues become problematic, discuss them with your school.

Tips for parents navigating online learning

• If stress from online learning is negatively impacting your family, consider having a break to support your family’s mental health.
• If parents and children are concerned about falling behind in schoolwork, consider working through sections of assigned schoolwork at a time that suits your family. Plan a family work/school timetable, reinforcing that its success needs support from all family members. As always, seek advice from your child’s teacher.
• When parents are working, consider allowing children more ‘screen-time’ if it assists with calming the social and emotional states of parents and children.

In conclusion, online learning can be stressful for parents and children. Taking on the role of ‘teacher’ is challenging, and parents are not a failure if they cannot perform the task perfectly. Be willing to seek extra advice and support from your child’s school or teacher. Remember, the mental health of parents and children at this time is a priority.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michelle Kennedy is a PhD candidate researching how mindfulness can help learning in anxious young people. She is an experienced educator, specialising in emotional, social and academic development of children.