Interview with Paz Holguín: the new normality when going back to school

One of the aspects that make the COVID-19 crisis more complex is the set of measures to be adopted before returning to educational centers. It is known that the coronavirus is transmitted more easily in closed spaces where there is a lot of people, and these are characteristics that occur in the classrooms of most schools, institutes and universities.

That is why this year, going back to school is much more complicated than on other occasions, and this has psychological implications that affect the little ones. in this interview We talked about it with the psychologist Paz Holguín, an expert in child and adolescent therapy.

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Paz Holguín: the return to school in the new normality, seen from Psychology

Paz Holguin She is a psychologist specialized in psychotherapy services for children, adolescents and adults, and she attends her office located in Madrid. In this interview, she talks to us about the way in which the little ones experience going back to school in the context of the coronavirus crisis, a problem that is still greatly affecting a wide variety of countries, including Spain.

As a psychologist who regularly deals with children, what aspect of going back to school? In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, do you think it will be a greater challenge for children and girls?

Well, in general, it will depend on age. For those who start school this year, the challenges are practically the same that we have all faced, since that what for us is the new normality for them is normality because they have not known any other way to function.

Perhaps they will find the challenge at this age when everything happens and they have to adapt, now, to working more as a team, to physical contact with their peers, etc.

For those who had already started school, the context is different, because they already know school and they know how it works normally. What will cost them the most is the adaptation of social behavior, the little ones have the need to begin to integrate cooperative motor games and begin to prefer contact with their peers over others Adults. For preadolescents and adolescents, the challenge will also pass, above all, through the social sphere.

Is it common for children to leave home with a perception of the risk of being infected similar to that of adults?

Yeah. I always explain to parents that it is important to consider what kind of coping role model we want to be for our children. Parents direct, in the first stages of developmentthe children's interpretation of reality.

So if we are, or have been, parents who have been scared, with the news all the time, making our fears clear in front of the children without explaining them to them or giving them or showing them tools to manage them, we will have a child with a very low sense of security in almost any context that does not be your home.

Can a boy or girl become obsessed with avoiding exposure to the coronavirus at all costs?

As I mentioned before, it is possible... It may be if a child has had close cases or has been exposed to news or comments about the virus for a long time.

It is also frequent that, although they have not been exposed to the above situations, they are afraid of being infected. not so much for their health but for not infecting parents, grandparents or people they have at home who are very appreciated.

But let's not forget that children have an adaptability almost greater than that of adults, so if you We provide resources and spaces with which you can manage what you feel, we will be helping you to face the situation.

Bearing in mind that the little ones do not fully understand how the world around them works, and that in certain areas of life believe that magic exists, are they vulnerable to developing superstitions about how the coronavirus is passed from person to person? person?

Yes, which is why it's important to explain in an age-appropriate way how streaming works and how we can stay protected with security measures. It is not necessary to give them an excessive amount of information, since they cannot process it like we do, but they can inform them by adapting the communication to their age.

On the Internet and at the Madrid Official College of Psychologists there are fantastic multimedia resources for young children that can help us understand how the virus is transmitted.

In these months, what do you think should be the main "extra preparations" to be adopted by the educational community to cover the development needs of the youngest students?

Undoubtedly, this question is complex to answer and for this, I believe, we must go to the principles that sustain schooling: the socialization, equal opportunities, intellectual, cognitive and emotional development, etc.

The main thing is that children can have a space in which they feel safe. If they go to school with fear, there may be changes in behavior and academic performance. These spaces must above all preserve socialization interactions in the safest way possible.

Socialization and equal opportunities, in my opinion, should guide those extra preparations for schools. As I have already said, well-designed spaces that facilitate communication and children's play.

On the part of the teachers, calming fears and giving spaces and emotional coping resources to the little ones is added to the task of promoting the cognitive and intellectual development of children.

And how can mothers and fathers help?

Well, the idea is not to turn this time into a drama for the children. Some guidelines that we can follow are: acting as good and calm coping models for them, trusting the educational center, avoiding criticism or raise doubts in front of the children, make sure they know the measures they must take and remind them of those that cost them a little more, normalize the excited that you can feel and help you name them so that they can know them, manage them and share them with us and above all, be aware of any change in children that indicates that something is wrong (refusing to go to school, sleeping poorly, eating less or more, stomach aches or headaches, irritability, etc.).