During the recent pandemic where major countries were shut down due to the fear of the spread of corona, losing jobs and shutting businesses has become a common sight. Lakhs of people lost their earning capacity that changed the economic dynamics of every country. While parents lose jobs, children in the family perform poorly in study, as per the report of the survey conducted in Spain.
What the report suggests
According to a survey conducted by Jenifer Luiz Valenzuela, from the London School of Economics, in Barcelona the students whose parents suffered a job loss during the recession period have declined in their academics as compared to those who had no financial crises at home. The study was conducted with almost 358 children and the result saw a dramatic link between the financial stability of the parents and the students. The fathers who had long stable incomes before and now suffered a financial crisis contributed more to the poor performance of the children. However, the job loss of a mother did not affect the child so large as compared to the job loss of the father. It is because of the employment pattern and social norm that men are subjected to have a stable income.
Schools shutting down add to the woes
Not only has the job loss of the parents affected the children, but schools shutting down due to the pandemic has also contributed to the poor educational performance of the children. Most students are not being able to cope with the online mode of teaching and hence, losing interest in studying. The school and educational institutions are shut for 7-8 months and thus, managing the student’s education is a tough task for the teachers and parents as well.
Also read: Up-skilling workforce crucial to arrest job losses due to automation across ASEAN, says GlobalData
Impacts on children a thing to worry
The parents and the teachers need to be more approaching towards their child to deal with them in such conditions. It is evident that if things are not well in the family, it will get to the head of a child, no matter what! The parents must be responsible enough to sit down with their children and free them of all the insecurities so that they do not find any hindrance in studying. If this is not controlled then gradually the performance of these children will fall down in the years to come.
The Policy Times suggestion
- The children whose parents lose jobs or suffer loss in business perform poorly in studies because they feel the burden at home unbearable. They take stress upon the fact that their parents would not be able to bear the expenses of their studies or that running the family expenses would be difficult. The parents of these children must console and comfort them to understand that they must not take any such burden and rather focus on their studies only.
- When a child is out of any kind of mental stress, he or she performs better in studies. So it is the duty of every parent to maintain that with their children so that they get better grades in school.
Also read: Impact of Corona Huge on Youth; Lost Jobs Linked to Depression
