What might have started out as a ‘vacation’ could eventually lead to anxiety and feeling of uncertainty
by AZALEA AZUAR / Pic by TMR FILE PIX
EVER since the initial Movement Control Order (MCO 1.0) last year, there had been many reports of mental breakdowns among Malaysians whose lives were impacted financially and socially.
A study by Kaiser Family Foundation found that from July 2020, many adults suffered negative impacts on their mental health, had sleeping and eating difficulties, increased alcohol consumption, involved in substance abuse and endured worsening chronic conditions.
All of these were believed caused by stress and worry due to Covid-19. But, is anybody monitoring how our children are coping with the pandemic?
With the country in a full lockdown from June 1, the Education Ministry announced that the teaching and learning at home (PdPR) is to resume from June 13 and 14 until July 16 and 17.
Again, they are deprived of the biggest part of growing up — going to school and playing outside with their friends.
Different Effects
According to the Malaysian Mental Health Association associate clinical psychologist Elsie Liaw, the lockdown has different effects among children.
Some have reported lower levels of mental health, while others have improved.
“They are not able to go out to play, meet their friends or engage in school activities.
“They become more clingy and more dependent on their parents because of the shift of their routines,” she told The Malaysian Reserve, adding that the lockdown has caused changes in children’s behaviour.

With MCO, children are deprived of the biggest part of growing up — going to school and playing outside with their friends (Pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL/TMR)
Since they have switched back to PdPR, the usual structure of attending school physically has been disrupted, including organising their bags for the next day, waking up early to get ready for school, going to recess with their friends and attending sports practices.
Their sleeping schedules have also changed.
What might have started out as a “vacation” from their routine, the lockdown could eventually lead to anxiety and feeling of uncertainty for their future.
“On the other hand, there are children who are doing well or even better with PdPR, especially those who have supportive parents.
“They are thriving from the extra attention and time spent with their family,” said Liaw. While some children are losing their focus and motivation with online learning, others who struggle with complex social relationships use PdPR to their advantage.
For the latter, they may actually report improvement on their mental health. Nevertheless, Covid-19 and the lockdown have a great impact on a child’s emotional and social development as much as on adults. When the lockdown was announced, there were mixed feelings from parents and children where some welcomed the idea for the sake of safety, while others were hesitant to be cooped up again.
“Children are vulnerable to environmental changes, even more so when they notice the changes around them, but do not fully understand what is going on,” Liaw added.
She said studies showed that like adults, children worry about their family members getting infected with Covid-19, but at the same time, they do not like strict social distancing and quarantine measures.
“It makes them feel more anxious and isolated,” she said.
Socioeconomic Gaps
Before the lockdown, the school was a place for social and emotional developments, but first and foremost, it was a place for academics.
With face-to-face interactions, all students had equal access to the teachers’ lessons. If a student is falling behind, the teacher would be able to detect it quickly and immediately intervene.
“Therefore, with PdPR in place, the lockdown is a barrier between teachers and students, especially from disadvantaged homes,” Liaw said.
The closure of schools will widen socioeconomic gaps. Concerns about exclusions from children without digital assets, physical space and other resources to support their learning have been discussed time and time again.
“There already is loss of stimulation among the children who have no access to online resources or materials,” Liaw said, adding that she hoped there would be proper research conducted to ascertain how big the gap is.
Managing Your Children’s Mental Health
Liaw said to help with their children’s mental and emotional health, parents need to acknowledge and validate their thoughts, feelings and reactions, and provide emotional support. Parents should allow the children to talk about their experience with the lockdown.
During the lockdown, many children get lonely, bored and frustrated because they do not have the human touch of a peer, which could also lead them to become socially inept when it comes to face-to-face interactions.
To protect them from this, they need a healthy family environment.
Many children often feel more comfortable talking to their friends as there are topics that they do not tell their parents, especially as if they are going through adolescence. Therefore, in the current situation, parents must make their children feel comfortable opening up about such issues with them.
“Reinforcing healthy emotional interactions with family members can help reduce stress among parents and children,” said Liaw, adding that parents must also enforce their personal strengths in order to improve their parenting skills and emotional self-efficacy.
“The younger children especially demand more attention from their parents, so they need their physical presence.
“Engaging in various creative home activities and games can be helpful.”
Liaw also said parents must utilise this time to convey Covid-19 information to their children to help them have an insight about why the world is in the state it is now.
Missing School
Artist, writer and mental health advocate Sanchita Islam’s two sons seemed to be coping well despite the lockdown as they live in a spacious apartment with enough room to play in.
They also have access to laptops and iPads where they can communicate with their friends via Google Meet.
“I believe it is important that they have stimulation. I play music, go cycling and play football with them every day.
“For now, their mental health seems to be in a good state and they seem to adapt to the lockdown well,” she commented.
Despite this, the English artist, who is currently based in Kuala Lumpur, said her sons miss attending school and meeting their friends physically.
“Although they have gotten used to online learning, they do miss their friends and staring at a screen for many hours can be tedious.
“It is not good for them in the long run. My eldest son has already complained of developing back pain,” said Islam.
She added that going to a brick-andmortar school is undeniably the best for children socially, mentally, emotionally and physically.
Parents that may find their children in distress or are themselves in need of support are advised to reach out to Mercy Malaysia (037733 5920), Talian Kasih (15999), GEM Helpline (011-2528 9610 or 011-5994 4384) and Women’s Aide Association (03-3000 8858) helplines for consultations.
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