Generally, when we quote ‘children’ and even as per national laws that define children ‘as humans under the age of 18’, we bracket all children of different age groups under the same category, assuming age to be binding & deciding factor. Whereas from a scientific view, the variation and contrast of developmental needs of different age groups is of utmost importance. Despite similar circumstances, the likings, interest, focus areas, experience, feelings, cognitive processes experienced by children amongst different age groups vary drastically. Thus the field of development psychology takes a keen interest in studying fine details about each age group separately and seeks to understand age-wise opportunity windows. These factors promote and hamper growth in children. Off late with the COVID situation, one of the most affected segments of our society are children who blossom and thrive with exploration, free movement and healthy social interaction, which has become a strict NO, owing to the pandemic leading to a build-up of stress and anxiety amongst many. So how are different age groups of children faring up in these unanticipated times? Many opinions and analysis are coming from adults, but nothing compares to the children’s direct insights

Most are indiscriminately calling online learning as the biggest boon. The whole world seems to promoting and pushing online content to children without much scientific view of how children learn and what they are experiencing. Having data-driven insights, like this survey, on how children of different age groups are coping up with the drastic changes and its impact on their mind becomes essential. Getting a peek into their world becomes very critical so we have the right understanding to make robust, wise, informed decisions as caregivers and educators.

The research captures a detailed compilation of the insights & experiences of key stakeholders – the school goers. At the same time, it gives an insight into the demographics, socio-economic aspects of parents (who are currently only adults who make up children’s environment). It’s a boon to have such studies and surveys that throw light on what is working and what’s not across age groups and different cities (metro, non-metros) and from diverse backgrounds of working, business or freelance career families.

The outcome of the research highlights the ability of children to adapt rapidly. It’s encouraging to see most children engaged in constructive learning and also to note the exciting connection of siblings as a vital factor for motivation/distraction, showcasing the need for design, discipline, routines balanced with healthy fun, bonding time as a family. While younger children enjoy creative, structured learning environments and social stimulus, they have found some solace with the boom of online art, activity classes. On the other hand, the elder children are motivated by the need for autonomy and enjoy intellectually stimulating conversations that nudged them to engage with the abundance of learning options on open source platforms, that are learner-driven like the ones available on Youtube.

While we understand coping with online classes is the new normal for children, the response from students in the survey reinforces the importance and preference for healthy, conducive social environments that promote learning & development in children of all age groups. There is an emphasis on the need for parents to design their work-life balance, quality time with children in the current times wherein there seem to be no borders with both work and family interactions spilling into each other under the same roof. The most encouraging factors revealed through the survey is the renewed interest in entrepreneurship and STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Maths) amongst children of both genders, metros and non-metros, which promises great potential for Future Young India.

Dear Parents,

The last 150 days have been unprecedented. Children have been unable to go to school, and in most parts of the country, have not even stepped out of their homes, to experience a normal day. While much has been said about the ensuing wrath the pandemic unleashed on people, businesses and the economy, there is seemingly less consideration given to how it has impacted the bright young minds of the country.

This prolonged lockdown can potentially change some habits of the school-goers for life. Sedentary lifestyle, siloed learning, and a lack of social engagement can have a lifelong impact on the mental as well as the psychological well being of the children. Left with little choice, these school going children have had to resort to online classes to ensure they get to cover their syllabus on time. While this remains a luxury as many others would not have access to a suitable device, a stable internet connection and a dedicated corner at their home. The concentration levels are depleting, and sleep patterns have been impacted.

Parenting itself has been challenging during these times with parents moving their offices at home and juggling between the work and home boundaries has not been easy. Besides, the socio-economic challenges have made quality time a relative rarity. Parents who are worried about the pandemic and its consequential impact on their financial health can unintentionally have their children in a state of flux.

Platforms with experiential and interactive learning which engage children in practical tasks, logical reasoning have proven to be helpful during these times. While just watching a video on YouTube is passive engagement; however, learning how to play the guitar on YouTube is interactive learning. Many school goers have taken on new hobbies and are learning new skills, including coding and robotics. With the right interventions, parents can consciously guide their kids to engage in online activities with a fair amount of balance in passive and active learning. Engaging children on such interactive platforms at home can enhance children’s ability to think, understand, communicate, imagine and remember.

Well, all is not gloomy when it comes to the education system in India. The new education policy is likely to bring the much-required change to the education system that was otherwise tethered to textbooks and prioritised rote learning and exams. The NEP’s recommendations will give freedom to both students and teachers to step beyond the defined boundary and explore new forms of knowledge. Success in the knowledge era is contingent upon a strong STEM base. To address that, the NEP rightly stresses the importance of including experiential learning replacing the existing pedagogy of teaching maths in schools. The emphasis on open-ended questions that the NEP tries to promote will help build curiosity amongst students to understand the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ instead of just the ‘whats’. A better conceptual understanding and experiential learning abets creativity and encourages children to think up elegant solutions to everyday problems using a multidisciplinary approach.

Another important recommendation of the NEP is about making coding compulsory in middle school. Our economy is heavily dependent on IT, especially in times of an unprecedented crisis that we are currently facing. This experience demands that it’s time we take this to the next step and prepare our children for the future. We at SP Robotic Works have been focusing on hands-on experiential learning for the kids alongside their school curriculum. We firmly believe that if implemented well the new regime will not only ignite curiosity at an early age it will also help in sustaining the imaginative mind beyond the initial years which otherwise was consumed in rote learning to secure marks irrespective of getting a good comprehension of the concepts and how they can be applied to solve the real-world challenges. This change in pedagogy will fuel innovation which is necessary to build an atmanirbhar Bharat

78% of parents are not willing to send their children to school till the pandemic is over, and it is safe for them to step out, even if their children have to miss a year of school for their safety. The verdict from the parents is unequivocal. Until it becomes completely safe for children to step out, they are not willing to send them to school even if they have to repeat the class. The Education Ministry has already ruled out the possibility of declaring 2020-21 as a “zero academic year” due to the COVID outbreak during a recent meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development. Parents in Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and mini- metros are even more concerned as between 82-86% are unwilling to take any risk with the children. Chennai and Kolkata are the only exceptions among the major cities where the ratio of parents that are willing to take chances with sending their children to school is higher than the national average.

Parents’ profession plays a significant role in their response. Salaried parents are the most protective, with only 17% willing to send their children to school as soon as the schools reopen. In contrast, 30% of self- employed and 56% of freelance workers are likely to send their children to school immediately after they open. The pandemic has undoubtedly taken a considerable toll on small business owners and gig workers than the salaried class as far as financial security is concerned. The response from different cohorts is also rooted in their appetite for risk and the need to explore other avenues of income during these turbulent times.

The unpredictability faced by this group of parents also has another repercussion, which is the willingness of parents to enrol their kids in extracurricular activities. More than 40% of self-employed/ freelance parents have not enrolled their children in any online extracurricular classes during this time, while only 17% of salaried parents have failed to do so.