More than 19 million students in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools will have their first break for the 2022-2023 academic year on 14-18 November. Specialist Clinical Psychologist Selin Kalabaş from Istanbul Gelisim University warned the parents: “When this period is spent correctly, it is an opportunity for children to rest and to make up for the deficiencies in their lessons. The transition from the school period directly to the holiday mode can disrupt the child's mood. Hence, the child may have difficulties in returning to school. At this point, she shared the right steps to follow.
“Do a digital detox”
When the breaks are spent productively, the child feels competent, develops a healthy self and at the same time has a positive academic self-perception. Kalabaş said, “I recommend that they do a digital detox during this period. The whole family should stay away from social media for a little while. Families should try to identify the aspects of their children's inadequacy and try to reconstruct them. They can do activities together. These activities do not need to be costly. They can transform the kitchen and the areas outside the home into activity areas. The important thing is to determine the child's needs correctly.”
‘’It is important for their social development to spend time with their peers’’
Selin Kalabas stated: “Children with attention deficit, learning difficulties and gifted children may have difficulties in school. Accurate assessment of children's needs is very crucial. At this point, families can support their children. At the same time, the holidays are important in terms of relationships with peers. Conditions can be created where s/he can spend time with his/her friends. In this way, their social skills also develop”.
“Spend quality time with the child”
Kalabas also added: “Working parents can also make good use of this process. They can spend healthy time with their children after work. The important thing for the child to be satisfied is that they spend quality time. Parents can direct their children to sports activities while they are at work. They can also direct the child towards art to express the aggression in her/him”.
“Parents' feedback about school affects the child's attitude towards school”
Kalabaş advised against possible difficulties in the process of returning to school and adaptation. “First of all, it is important to identify the cause of the compliance problem. At the same time, routines should be continued. In addition, parents' feedback about the school is also important for the child's attitude to school. Families can have positive conversations with their children and organize family meetings. Family members can also talk about their own school experiences.’’
“Parents can gamify the study”
Kalabaş: “When parents work one-on-one with their children, they can better observe where they are lacking. At this point, I find it important to include the game in the study. For instance, by playing the teacher role, they can observe whether the children understand the subject better or not. The child can explain the subject to his/her family. Thus, the child learns the subject better.’’
