Homeschooling benefited children’s mental health amid pandemic-related school closures, study shows: A look at the pros and cons | Photo Credit: iStock Images
Key points
- The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the lives of people around the world
- A recent study shows how homeschooling helped improve students’ physical and mental well-being.
- Read on for the study and the pros and cons of homeschooling.
New Delhi: The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of people around the world, regardless of age and gender. The change in academic activities from offline mode to online mode affected students dramatically. A recent study published in JAMA Network Open sheds light on the positive impact of improved sleep on teens going through a period of COVID-induced home schooling, which also helped improve their physical and mental well-being. The study its titled “Association between homeschooling and adolescent sleep duration and health during high school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Oskar Jenni, co-author of the study. saying“Although the closure clearly led to poorer health and well-being for many young people, our findings reveal an advantage of school closures that has received little attention until now.”
Homeschooling – Pros and Cons
Advantages: These are the advantages of homeschooling:
- Students have more freedom and can have a flexible approach to their curriculum. Additionally, students can continue their studies at their own pace.
- Homeschooling keeps the risk of contracting a COVID-19 infection at bay.
- The curriculum can be customized to meet the needs of an individual student.
Cons: Here are the cons of homeschooling:
- Students may lack social skills and interpersonal relationships.
- It can be difficult for students to separate their personal and academic lives, resulting in an increased workload.
- Students may miss out on practical knowledge and opportunities.
Potential for new opportunities
The study looked at 3,664 high school students. Explaining the result of the study, Oskar said: “The students slept about 75 minutes more per day during the lockdown. At the same time, their health-related quality of life improved significantly and their alcohol and caffeine consumption decreased.”
“Our findings clearly indicate the benefit of starting school later in the morning so that young people can get more sleep,” added Jenni. The improvement of the well-being of the students due to the improvement of sleep indicates the adaptation of novel norms that can benefit the students, even in the offline education mode.
Disclaimer: The tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or dietitian before starting any fitness program or making changes to your diet.
