Online summer camps help children cope with stress during pandemic

With more than a year of the pandemic, schools remain closed and children are confined indoors. Children are affected a lot due to the second wave of the pandemic. With playing on fields and vacations a far fetched idea, they were forced to spend yet another summer at home, this year.

Online summer camps have come not only as a stress-buster, but to showcase their creativity and take part in various activities of their interest.

It may be recalled that the state government banned all summer camps for children, due to the Covid pandemic in 2020. The enrollment for online summer camps shot up last year. Following the lockdown for the second consecutive year, it was easy for the parents to find the best summer online camp, suitable for their children.

The situation encouraged many persons to conduct online summer camps, music and dance classes that keep the children busy and entertained for more than an hour, every day.

"Finding an online painting summer camp was not only safe, but it prevents the children from coming in contact with a lot of surfaces. I was able to get a good art teacher from Bengaluru," said Sowmya, a parent of a five-year-old boy.

Shravya of Naavik Early Education Centre, who is conducting an online summer camp, said that they have students enrolled from all over the country.

"We have students from Jaipur, Rajasthan, Delhi, Mysuru, Udupi, Bengaluru and other places. The online classes is for children from 3-6 years, conducted for two months. We ensure that they take part actively in the online camp, with a lot of creativity. We conduct five batches a day and each batch has 10 to 12 students. The hands on experience not only keep them busy, but also improves the motor skill activities. We have observed that young children are quite excited to bring their art works for showing," she said. Naavik also conducts online academic sessions from June.

The children have an opportunity to interact with new people, and even display their work online, that increases their confidence and gives a sense of achievement. Online music camps have become a hit among children, as this involves one to one interaction with the teacher.

There are many academies conducting virtual summer camps on music, dance, magic maths, science, creative writing and many more.

Jagannath, a parent, opined that paying for online camps may be worth, if your child is occupied for several hours, giving you some time. "But, if your child requires a lot of supervision, it is not worth shelling out money. One can opt for a low-cost camp that needs less parent attention," he said.