Digital schooling a cause of tribulation for children and a load for mothers

Spread the love

“Digital schooling in the Internet age means teaching tomorrow skills today.”

Digital schooling: where about!

Integrating technology in digital education is a complex issue taking many forms that differ in purpose. It can range from replicating existing educational practices as tools for transforming education to bring about new learning. Child’s education is an important factor- a go-to situation emerged for schools to resume online classes due to World-wide pandemic. But it might have raised many concerns among educational experts as well as parents.

It is lauding how technology has made things smoother but has a negative impact on mothers who work hard in various fields as well as have to sit through an online schooling to assist their children. It is adding to the tiring list, which affects their mental health.

What is Digital schooling?

Digital education is the innovative use of digital tools and technologies during teaching and learning. It is usually referred to as e-learning or digital schooling.

Process:

Digital learning has served and shaped a world in which we are bound into the web of test scores & achievement targets. On a global scale, it is also about a mother who performs many hours of unpaid care. As children are now home and online classes have commenced, child-care round the clock has piled on further to the responsibilities of a working mother. They are shouldering a heftier chunk already. Working women are expected to grease her elbows in all avenues, and by simple virtue of gender in a society, it becomes a job of a mother to look out for her child as well as house chores, but the men get a hard pass. In a society where gender roles have been dictated by patriarchy, men are often seen to gaze well into choreographed chaos that functions like clockwork, from the periphery.

Reasons for Oppressiveness against Digital schooling:

Classes are usually coordinated through parents WhatsApp groups.
Children in pre-school need a source of assistance or help from their mothers.
It is easy for children to get distracted.
It is easy for preschoolers to click something that might district the whole class or might land themselves into some other avenues of the net.
Inevitable delays and connectivity issues.
Lack of equipment, adjustments through parent’s phone or laptops.

Effect on Mothers:

The negative impact of the lockdown is entirely driven by negative effects on women. When it comes to children, there is a spectrum that largely comes on the mother. Most of the age groups cannot be left unsupervised during digital learning. The technicalities of learning tools and ensuring the availability of functional devices came as a daily challenge. Digital schooling had serious repercussions on mothers. The implications of online schooling on mothers like apart from usual work or office work, solely to see if a child is taking classes seriously or to ensure cybersecurity and class participation. And in addition to that, digital schooling brings anxiety and frustration, which needs attention and thought.

Spread the love

Ask your lady friend about her childbirth experiences and chances are that 8 out of 10 friends will tell you how traumatic the experience was. Most women always talk about how painful, difficult, traumatic their birthing experience was, and as a day they won’t forget in their life. Some are totally unaware of what to expect and are often caught by surprise at the whole thing. Some others experience medical complications that add to the existing labour. And many times, blatant apathy by medical professionals makes it a harrowing time.

Whether you have had natural childbirth or a Caesarian section, labour is a difficult time. ‘Birth trauma’ is the distress experienced by a mother during or after childbirth. It is referred to the emotional and psychological trauma suffered during this phase and is not just about what happened during labour and the birth but also about how the mother is left feeling afterwards.

Why is it important to speak about Birth Trauma?

A distressing labour experience can leave the mother feeling overwhelmed. This can translate to a long term psychological condition like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Postpartum Depression. It can result in flashbacks, anxiety, being on the alert always, avoiding triggers that remind the trauma. It is very important therefore to ensure how the experience has left the mother feeling later and to give her all the support required for her to ‘heal’ from the damage because it can become difficult for the mother to bond with the baby.

Women who undergo birth trauma don’t find much support because others may find it difficult to understand this, even other mothers. This can make sufferers lonely and depressed and guilty as a result. It is important to create awareness, have conversations, safe spaces and support groups where women feel welcome to talk about their experiences without being dissed or dismissed.

“All women need access to antenatal care in pregnancy, skilled care during childbirth, and care and support in the weeks after childbirth. All births should be assisted by skilled health professionals, as timely management and treatment can make the difference between life and death for both the mother and the baby.” – UNICEF India

How can we ensure a safe and comfortable birthing experience?

Education

Knowing what pregnancy encompasses and how births take place prepares a mother for what’s to come and the entire process so she is ready. Talking to the gynecologist or a birthing consultant/doula/counselor can help understand the process better and help her

Awareness

Awareness of birthing options is a right that every woman should have access to. Safe, painful, and easy delivery is the right of every woman. Understanding natural vaginal birth, underwater birth, cesarean section, epidurals, and the pros and cons of each can help the mother to decide what she feels most comfortable with.

Support

Every woman needs to have a supportive doctor/doula, partner and family to help her make the choice of birth that she wants to go in for. Respecting her options and making her comfortable should be utmost for the caregivers instead of belittling her or criticizing her choices saying how she is overthinking the whole thing or how all women give birth every minute and it’s the most natural thing, and dismissing her fears as not being valid, is not the kind of support system or caregivers that she needs to be surrounded with at this very important phase of her life.

Having a trustworthy partner/caregiver (can be a friend, family, relative) by the side during labour can help ease the trauma in the labour room and should be discussed and decided beforehand, as many hospitals still don’t allow that in India.

Choice of medical professional

Choosing the right doctor and birthing facility is of utmost importance. If your doctor is rushing through your appointments, dismissing your questions as being too silly, won’t take out the time to educate you about the whole pregnancy and birthing process, does not ask you for your birthing options, does not respect your discomfort during physical examinations, violates the comfort zone with your body, then you need to rethink your options.

Most times, the kind of medical consultants are responsible for the kind of experience they provide in the labour room and that stays for life, affecting you mentally with future birth experiences too. How a doctor makes you feel during your labour and their patience levels will stay with you for life. So do not compromise on that experience. Medical complications that may arise during labour may not always be controlled but how that will be dealt with is a choice that can be made beforehand.

A positive birthing experience is the right of every woman.

Today, birthing centers, birthing courses, birthing options are slowly being made available but all women may not have privilege and access to the same. Just because childbirth is the most common or natural thing does not mean that a woman has to go through a birth trauma experience for the same. Respecting and caring well for a woman during this time will make sure that the whole family is benefited from it because a mother cannot ‘give’ if she is emotionally disturbed or physically depleted of care and nourishment.