Due to Covid-19, many schools were closed in March across North America. Given how rare such an event is, there were many questions about how children would be affected by the school closures. In April, researchers conducted a representative survey of almost 800 Americans to understand how parents and children were coping with the changes. That study found that generally, children and parents were coping well with the changes. Although children were eager to go back to school to see their friends, they found the experience gave them a better sense of personal responsibility and independence. However, researchers wanted to know if, over time, these feelings would change, so they conducted a follow-up study.
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Kids Have Dealt With School Closings Far Better Than Expected, Study Finds
In May, the researchers conducted a second representative study of 800 parents and children across the United States.
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The focus of the study was to see if children were still coping well with school closures. Overall, the second study found that children and parents were still coping well with school closures. The study also made five conclusions about the effects of school closures.
Overall, those surveyed reported higher well-being after school closed.
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Children reported feeling less stressed and parents felt that their children seemed less stressed. In fact, 85% of parents described their child as happy post-school-closure.
Most children found that they developed more personal responsibility and independence during the school closure.
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Many children said that their parents allowed them to do things on their own. Similarly, parents found that their child took on challenging projects or activities, and even found that their child helped more with chores.
The children's resilience during the school closures gave their parents a sense of pride.
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When parents were asked how they felt about how their child coped with the changes, most parents said they were "proud" of their child. Similarly, parents found that they discovered a new sense of appreciation for their child's capabilities.
Surprisingly, the survey found that parenting was not more difficult with children home all the time.
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Most parents did not find that they had conflicts with their children. Further, less than half of parents thought that parenting was more difficult during the pandemic.
Despite the positive outcomes, overall, children did want to go back to school.
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Most children were looking forward to seeing their friends.
It is no doubt that the pandemic is having a devastating effect on society at large, but it is nice to know that children are coping with the changes well and seem to be demonstrating resilience in such a trying time.
h/t: Psychology Today
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