Mummies Going Bananas: 5 Tips to Chase the Online-Learning Anxiety Away

My daughter had her Arabic class this morning. I happened to be around and overheard the content as her teacher was teaching. Out of a sudden, I was reminded by an article I read about the non-Mandarin speaking parents who had anxiety over their Standard 1 children’s online learning. In the world we live today, it didn’t come to my surprise when the Chinese couldn’t understand Chinese, just like the Malays having difficulties with Bahasa Malaysia. It seems like language is getting harder and harder every day. Furthermore, with the online learning that not only implemented in Malaysia but almost everywhere in this world, the act of learning (and teaching) is taking a new level. Apparently, we are still in the phase of adapting it. The parents, the kids, the school and even the government. It's the whole system. Being a mum, as much as everyone is trying to comfort each other, I could definitely empathise with the anxiety. We hate it when we knew we couldn’t help our children. We don’t want our children to be left behind in their class. We need to help our children understand what the teachers are teaching. We fear that our children hate school and not learning anything from start. Oh no! Ok, mama, inhale! Hold your breath! Now, exhale! Credit: GV Wire It has been nearly a year that we are adapting to online learning, and of course, for the new students who just enrolled in Standard 1, things weren’t the same as other kids (and even us) has gone through before this. Let’s talk about us, instead of our children, for a moment. Having the school online means we, mummies (and daddies) becoming the teachers’ proxy to monitor the children’s learning. Technical difficulties, limited access to teachers, understanding the instructions literally, and juggling day-to-day routines are among the issues faced by parents. No doubt parents are anxious, to some extend, depressed. I’m not a psychologist who could give the best advice on how to distress but here are some tips and takeaways you might want to consider in handling the anxiety that is raging inside your mind. #1 Soothe yourself Press the pause button. When things get out of your way, don’t get overwhelmed. Give yourself a break. Find some time off. Just arrange for lunch to be delivered, take that nap you dearly missed in the afternoon, lock yourself in the room and enjoy the yoga online or completing the whole series of K-Drama you’ve been wanted to watch. Take it easy on yourself. #2 Be patient So what if you can’t help your kids with their homework? What’s worst that could happen? Remember when our kids were just babies and struggling to stand by themselves even you were there to give them your hand to hold on to? They hold on your hands, the tables, chairs and everything. They fell down several times and stood up again. In a matter of time, they started to walk, and suddenly they were out and about, running. Life is a learning process. Human is good when they are desperate to survive. Kids’ adapt more than adults. The children will learn, in time. So, just have some patience and accept things as it is. #3 Communicate and get social Don’t keep mum and remain silent. Communicate and share your concerns with your partner, best friends, and fellow mummies. You’ll be surprised to find out that the struggles are real and you are not all alone out there. #4 Reach out for help Keep on reminding yourself that you are not born to be a SUPERmum and you are doing a superb job. But if things get too much on your plate, reach out for help. Ask for assistance. If there’s a need to be in touch with the teachers or school, just do it. #5 Reward yourself Ha, this last formula always works on me! One tip that never fails during this MCO phase is online shopping. You do not have to buy things if you don’t want to. But, browsing an online shop like Motherhood definitely a great therapy. You can just add your favourites in the cart and make your choice either to proceed with the payment not, whichever suited you best. But a genuine message from a mom to another, I’d say ‘be strong’ :) Well, I won’t lie, things are not easy. But again, time will pass and everything will go back to ‘normal’ when we started to adapt and get comfortable with it. For now, just learn to enjoy the ride and don't get overstressed.

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