A poll has found that parents are concerned with their child’s interest in school, and that this has led them to not hand in assignments and fall behind. When school went remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone knew there would be challenges. However, the specific challenges with doing school online were not entirely known at the beginning, after a year, we are now learning the specific struggles that students and parents are facing. One of the top concerns continues to be the mental health of children who are learning at home.
According to Study Finds, a poll was completed that found that 1 in 4 parents have found that their child has lost interest in school and social interactions since completing online learning, and with an unclear ending in sight, it can grow more concerning as the days go on.
The poll was completed by OnePoll, on behalf of Lightspeed Systems. It asked 2,000 American parents about how their children have been coping with the pandemic while attending school remotely.
•About 1,800 of the parents asked had children attending school virtually
•93% of them said that they had concerns about their child’s mental health as the pandemic continues to go on
•1 in 4 parents said that their child is no longer showing the same level of interest in classes that they once enjoyed
•A further 27% said that their child had even lost interest in past activities they liked.
There has been concern on how well students are learning and absorbing information in an online setting, and the poll found that there has been struggles.
•42% of parents said that their child is struggling to turn in their assignments on time
•35% said that their child is showing a lack of social interaction with their peers in class
This is concerning, and it is showing just how much of an impact the pandemic and the guidelines are having on children.
It also highlighted the struggle that parents are having in how to help their child. When the 93% of parents who are concerned about their child’s mental health were asked about what they could do, 66% of them said that they want to talk about it with their children but they did not know how.
This shows the importance of resource availability for parents and that parents may need help in how to address mental health with their children. The poll was done as Lightspeed Systems looks into artificial intelligence programs that can monitor children while they are doing remote learning and look for hints of depression, self-harm and cyberbullying behavior.
Sources: Study Finds, OnePoll, Lightspeed Systems