News24.com | OPINION | We may have been wrong about the \'kids of today\'

OPINION | We may have been wrong about the 'kids of today'

Our children are more resilient than we give them credit for, says the writer. (wilpunt, Getty Images)

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The generation that we have until now, considered to be molly-coddled and overly sensitive, have shown us about resilience. They have adapted, managed and they have thrived.

Remember when we rolled our all-knowing-eyes at them and when we said that they had no idea what a challenge was?

We might have even blamed ourselves because we solved everything for them and even truly believed that they would never cope in the real world.  

Perhaps now would be a good time to admit that we were wrong.  

The announcement that schools in South Africa are set to open on June 1, 2020 has had mixed reactions.

Whereas some parents are thrilled that they can finally hang up their metaphoric teaching gloves, others are understandably anxious about the implications and what might follow when their children return to world that poses a real but invisible risk.  

Each Sunday I record a Covid-19 podcast with pulmonologist physician Dr Anton Meyberg who has become one of the leading medical Covid-19 voices. On hearing the news of the return to school, I asked his view. His advice to parents includes the following:

• The decision to open schools is a good one. We can expect many other issues if we don’t get back to some sort of normalcy. These can include depression, isolation and an assortment of the medical issues that are associated with this. 
• It is vital that schools adhere very strictly to the guidelines provided. These include physical distancing, masks, hygiene, no sharing of lunch and no sport. 
• Daily routine should be altered so that when children return from school they should shower or bath, change out of their school uniform before engaging with the family. Routine is a powerful way to reduce anxiety and children will adapt to this fairly quickly.  
• Children of parents who might be immuno-compromised should discuss the details and the situation with a medical professional and the school to determine the best outcome. 
• A multi-vitamin to boost immunity is probably a good idea for children who are returning to the school environment. This could help both the kids themselves as well as their parents.  
• It is vital that parents manage their own worry and stress levels. Children are extremely sensitive to the emotional ups and downs that their parents experience. Whereas there is no value in pretending (they will see through this), it cannot be stressed how important it is for parents to not add to the already stressful situation of returning to an environment that the kids have been told is dangerous.  
• We need to keep in mind how few kids are impacted by Covid-19. 

Transitions are never easy, and as we move from a more or less complete lockdown towards an environment that tries to manage economic pressures with the health risks of a more open system.

That said we need to keep in mind just how well they have done to date.

The generation that we have until now, considered to be molly-coddled and overly sensitive, have shown us about resilience. They have adapted, managed and they have thrived.  

That is the lesson worth learning.  

- Howard Feldman is a keynote speaker and analyst. He is the author of three books and is the morning talk show host on ChaiFM.

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