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Kids of the pandemic: Humourless, aggressive and touchy

Even those in the 13-14 age group have lost their sense of humour, say teachers witnessing the toll of the pandemic
Last Updated 29 May 2022, 03:00 IST

Lost sense of humour, poor concentration, aggression, indiscipline, emotional outbursts, tendency to lie, hypersensitivity and no interest in studies are some of the behavioural changes that teachers are noticing in children ever since schools opened on May 16.

Even those in the 13-14 age group have lost their sense of humour, say teachers witnessing the toll of the pandemic on children.

Veena Rao, who teaches at an unaided school in southern Bengaluru, narrated an incident that left her shocked. "Almost 80 per cent of the kids in Class 7 were impassive when I cracked a joke," she said. "I have been in this profession for 11 years now but never found the children this detached."

A teacher from another school explained how kids have become emotional. Citing a recent example, the teacher said, "We were conducting creative activities in the school just to make them comfortable in the class. One boy started crying when his turn came. His parents later told us that he behaves the same way at home."

Nagasimha G Rao, director of NGO Child Rights Trust, said their helpline (Child Line 1098) was receiving phone calls from parents about similar behavioural changes in their wards. He reiterated the demand for conducting mandatory counselling in schools in the aftermath of Covid-19.

D Shashi Kumar, general secretary of the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, corroborated this, saying teachers are noticing major behavioural changes in children, and parents are helpless. "Kids have become restless and parents are unable to control them because there are too many behavioural issues. Even inside the classroom, teachers are finding it difficult to handle them as there are a lot of attention deficit issues," he explained.

To address the problem, some schools are training teachers while others are counselling the children.

Dr Anupama S, a child psychologist who visits a few schools in Bengaluru, attributed the phenomenon to the pandemic. "Age-related behavioural changes are common. But what we are witnessing now has a lot to do with the pandemic. Lack of friends, exposure to gadgets, lack of physical activities, increased screen time and no access to the outside world... kids have been under stress for almost two years now," she said, adding that teachers and schools should handle kids with care and conduct regular counselling sessions for both students and parents.

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(Published 28 May 2022, 19:07 IST)

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