Your children are living through a very unique period of time that is far from normal, thank goodness. But here is a question; do you think what your children are experiencing now, what I call the pandemic lifestyle, will carry over in your children's lives after the pandemic passes? What will be the lasting effects of the pandemic lifestyle on your children and are there benefits of this lifestyle? An interesting question and as you may imagine, I have some thoughts on the matter which you are about to hear. Image by Mirko Sajkov from Pixabay Musical Intro How has life changed in the Covid-19 era for children- What I see as the positives? I have a confession to make. My medical partners used to accuse me of seeing the world through rose colored glasses. In our meetings, they would always tell me to "take off those rose-colored glasses". Well, maybe they were right? I tend to try and find the silver lining whenever possible in most situations, and I guess the Covid-19 pandemic is no exception. I actually see a lot of positives in the radical shift in lifestyle that children have experienced recently in America. Yes, so much of your children's lives are different but sometimes, change is good. No, I am not blind to all the trauma and uncertainty that children are experiencing now, but all the change just might promote growth. Here are a few examples of how I see the pandemic improving the lives of your children today and possibly in the future: More outdoor time. Childhood was once an outdoor activity. If you are over 50 years old, you know what I am talking about. Life before video games and ubiquitous screens. Well, it's coming back! Craving the outdoors has become fashionable again and riding bikes is definitely in! There are actually more bicycles riding around my neighborhood than cars, mostly driven by children. I love seeing children outside, playing traditional games without screens or any electronics. Throwing balls, riding their bikes, swinging, or just digging in the dirt. I even see children in my neighborhood sitting outside reading...a book! Wow. How retro is that! That takes me back to a time gone by. Will this last after restrictions are lifted? I think to some degree, yes. Children are rediscovering the outdoors and active vigorous play. When I was a child, the worst thing your parents could say to you was... "you need to come inside” or “you can't go out and play." I hope that attitude is coming back for your children. Routines have changed-With no organized sports or other activities, I see the pressures of time having been relieved from the children in my neighborhood and they seem happier for it. Their academic days have been shortened and their play time has been lengthened. Fortunately, I don't see very tired children coming home from school at 4:00, not having had much down time since arriving at school at 7:30am. No, I see children coming out of their homes in the early afternoon looking more energized and raring to go. Will this translate to a change in the way that children go to school in the future? Could we have discovered that school days are too long for the youngest children? and that "Hybrid education" be best for children? Or, will virtual learning at home, with no bricks and mortar school experience, become the new normal? Could self-paced learning, done remotely from large schools, really take hold in America? I'm not sure but I do predict that we are going to see far more home schooling and tele-learning in the future. I think the pandemic has opened our eyes to considering alternatives to what we knew as school in our childhoods. The Health of Children May Improve- Could the pandemic lifestyle have the benefit of improving your children's health? With children getting more fresh air and exercise, I think it is logical to think that your children will also get fewer sicknesses than they did when they were in close proximity to hundreds of children every day...
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