ONLINE SCHOOLS and HOW GROWN UPS GOT BUSTED

For more than a decade now, we have been preaching to parents and kids about the harmful effects of electronic devices. The last revision of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual has come up with the new diagnosis of ‘Gaming disorder’. Special deaddiction departments like S T O P at NIMHANS, Bangalore have been established to treat disorders related to excessive use of electronic devices.

Then COVID 19 happened.

Now we are all for ‘ONLINE EDUCATION’ and what about the children’s health and safety? The excessive enthusiasm for online schooling has uncovered the double- standards that we grown-ups have- we change our positions when it suits us. Is it really so? Or it is a time for us to understand the finer points and reconcile with the situation?

ARE ELECTRONIC DEVICES SAFE?

The short answer is ‘NOT SAFE’.

Electronic devices harm children’s body, eyes, brain and personality. They can cause chronic health problems like obesity, depression and cancers.There is ample and unequivocal evidence that electronic devices are not safe for children because of their physical and psychological immaturity and that they have a greater vulnerability to the general harmful effects.

Guidelines clearly recommend zero screen exposure till the age of 2 years. Thereafter exposure should be minimized to few short spells on a weekly basis and can be upto an hour daily by the teenage years.

AND ONLINE SCHOOL

I am much happy about the Maharashtra Govt Guidelines which has said no online schooling for children upto the second standard. Thereafter the SOP recommends upto 2 hours daily till standard 8 and then 3 hours daily for high school students. This is touching the limit of safety.

I guess- the way to understand it is to compare it with the danger of attending school in person on one hand and complete break from learning on the other hand. (other modes of learning like home schooling are rarely possible in India).  In India, there is a great pressure for school and academic performance- mainly parents find that school keeps children busy and out of trouble. And if they see children doing school, parents feel more secure about them. So authorities are generally under pressure to start the schooling process somehow or the other. In reality, if children do not go to school for one year- and work only on sustaining their previous levels of learning- nothing drastically bad will happen. They may need to work harder next year though. This is especially true for kids below 12 years. But it will lead to massive amounts of parental stress, economic distress for educational institutions and administrative headaches when schools resume. So, the easier way out is to start school by whatever means available- and online schooling is an elegant and attractive option.

Electronic gadgets are still unsafe for children and my hope is for the online schooling hours to reduce further for every age group and that children should have the sessions only few times a week instead of everyday.

HOW TO ENHANCE SAFETY?

If we accept that online school is necessary due to overwhelming circumstances and that it is a temporary option, then we need to work on enhancing the safety by minimizing the risks. In our culture we are accustomed to feeding children special diet with almonds, milk, etc if they are attempting something that requires more strength, concentration. If children are weak or vulnerable as during illness, then too we feed them special foods and arrange special comforts for them. This situation is similar- it requires a greater concentration alongwith constant risk of damage to health to do online school. Therefore certain special measures should be taken.

11.

CONTROL DOSE

After online schooling, teachers should be careful to give homework that does not involve further use of electronic devices. Parents also should insist on children making handwritten notes and assignments. After school, children should not be allowed to use electronic gadget-based activities to relax. Further learning like tuitions, art classes etc through electronic media should be minimized. Child should be given access to only one device at a time.

For this to work, even parents will need to set an example through their own behavior.

2.      PHYSICAL MEASURES

Good ergonomic charts demonstrating proper seating and distance from screen can be downloaded and displayed next to the child’s work station. Proper seating arrangements, light source, desk for writing, noise cancelling ear muffs, etc should be provided. Child should be reminded to follow the safety precautions until it becomes a habit.

Attention should be paid that child will suffer no ill- effects to eyes and vision, hearing, neck-back and posture, hand and shoulder while being at online school

3.      IMPROVE HEALTH

Children should be encouraged to build their health and immunity through healthy habits. These are balanced diet, adequate fluid intake, regular vigorous physical exercise, hobbies and recreation, good restful sleep at night and social interactions with family (and friends through phone calls)

HOW TO DO IT?

The best way to implement and habituate safe online schooling is through adequate supervision of the child. In the beginning, parents should sit next to the child and attend the school without participating or interfering in the schooling. They should observe the child and give cues about posture etc- so moulding healthy habits. It also gives idea to the parents about what else needs to be provided. Slowly parent can do their own tasks quietly sitting near the child and later can leave the child to attend school by himself/ herself for short periods of time. Completely leaving the child alone while he/ she is on the screen is not recommended.

I can offer no solutions in this blog to parents who are unable to implement their plan because child does not listen to them. They will need to consult good books or counselors for guidance.

NEGATIVE TRENDS

Unfortunately, all schools are not following the SOP given by Govt. ECA has in fact stated that pre- schoolers must be enrolled in online schooling ‘without pressure’. But how will they protect the young eyes and brain from screen radiation and risk of addiction and hyperkinesis- that they have not mentioned. It is for the parents to choose not to enrol children in schools following this guideline.

Some schools have 6-7 hrs of online school daily with or without homework that requires further use of electronic gadgets. I can only feel sorry for the kids and parents of such  schools- they don’t have a choice but to comply with such unhealthy schedules.

Education, school and learning are extremely important. But a little delay or slack will not kill the child or his/ her future. We need to temper our desperation for school with the knowledge that electronic gadgets exposure is basically harmful to the child. With this thought in mind, we must design the online school to do what is absolutely essential only.