A Letter to Today’s Schoolchildren..I See You, I Hear You, I Share Your Many Feelings – Part 1

Well, it’s just over a year since our worlds (big and small) literally ‘rocked’ out of whack.  It changed for everyone in so many ways and it was/is especially hard on our children. 

Children do not necessarily have the emotional skills quite yet to deal with the events that rocked their worlds in so many ways. Let’s add to that the idea that parents, teachers, and others who perhaps did have the emotional wherewithal to cope with the seismic changes experienced stress like no other in their lifetimes.  

One minute, we are telling our children to reduce their screen time, and the next we are telling our children that they will be attending school via a screen, visiting friends and family via a screen…and the list goes on. Our children watch us closely. Michelle Obama is spot on when she said, “With every word we utter, with every action we take, we know our kids are watching us. We as parents are their most important role models.”   

I find myself carrying around either my iPad, laptop, and/or iPhone all day every day. This is no way to live an authentic life….especially as a child.  Who knew that a 6 year old would learn the word ‘mute’ and know how to use a ‘chat box’? The average attention span for children is typically two to three minutes per year of age, meaning roughly 12-24 minutes for children ages 5-8. We now expect many more minutes from our youngest school aged children.

With the coming rollout of vaccination to more of the population, hope for a return to a new version of ‘normal’ is on the horizon at long last.  Today, I thought I’d write a letter (or two or three–watch for my next blog posts for the next letters for children ages 9-12 and then teens ages 13+) for you to share with the children ages 5-8 with whom you interact. Would love it if you shared both the letter and your/your children’s thoughts with me either in the Comments Box or by email. 

The Learning Disabilities Association of America put out a survey just today entitled K-12 Parents: How Has Covid Affected Your Child’s Learning. Check it out.