2020/04/27
Battling the Epidemic
Battling the Epidemic
By Headmistress Ms. Chung
We all know that water exists in 3 states and do you know we also can exist in 3 antiviral states! Are you wondering what I am talking about? Interestingly, the 3 antiviral states share the same pronunciation in Cantonese as the three states of water but differ greatly in meaning from them.
Have you got the words in mind? Well, the three battling states against the epidemic are Notion, Attitude and Parenting skill. I would like to share my thoughts on them in detail and how they can be implemented in this difficult time.
‘Notion’ refers to the beliefs and habits that we have developed and how we can continue to practice them even now while we are at home.
1. Taking care of elders:
We can continue to care for them, also during the stay at home period by talking to them on phone or computer and making unique cards for them. Please encourage your children to talk to their grandparents often so that they would not miss each other.
2. Appreciate others:
Many front-line medical workers who work tirelessly are prone to stress and anxiety. Would it not be a great idea to write thank you cards to these people? You may encourage your children to make thank you cards or write letters to express their thankfulness to our medical workers. You can send the letters and cards to school and we will in turn ensure that the letters and cards reach the concerned people. Our children need not stop there. They can also make cards for you parents, who are balancing work and home and to cleaners who maintain and keep the common facilities clean.
3. Doing chores:
It is essential to keep our houses clean and hygienic at this critical time. Children can be encouraged to do some housework according to their ability. Please ensure that you appreciate them at all times.
4. Reading habit:
Although we cannot visit the library during this time, our students can continue nurturing their reading habits at home by accessing our school website where we have a good collection of both Chinese and English books. Alternatively, you may also use the Microsoft Teams platform to access many reading materials with follow up worksheets.
The second state of battling the epidemic is ‘Attitude.’ It is basically overcoming adversity with resilience. Dr. Cheng of EDUHK points out that we should nurture children’s self-efficacy and multi-dimensional perspectives in order to enhance resilience in them.
1. Self-efficacy:
Self-efficacy is an indicator of how strongly one believes in one’s personal ability to complete a certain task successfully. It determines activities such as maintaining personal hygiene and making a time table for oneself. Basic research has shown that increase in perceived self-efficacy can enhance extinction of fear. (Zlomuzica et.al., 2015)
2. Multi-dimensional perspective:
Multi-dimensional perspective is a kind of thinking mode and refers to an understanding of the consequences of adversity for individuals, families and communities and needs to incorporate the possibilities of both adaptation and maladaptation. Resilience can be enhanced if children were trained to think multidimensionally and have concern for others’ needs.
The third state is the ‘Parenting skill.’ It is a skill that can help you solve a problem with your child without being angry. It is important for you to pay attention to the following two points.
1. Control your emotion:
Emotion is powerful and your mood determines how you interact with people. Therefore, we should calm down ourselves at once when we face any of our children’s problem or when you are in a tense conversation with your child.
2. Empathetic listening:
Empathetic listening is all about really understanding the person who is talking to you. That means it goes beyond active listening and deep into the zone of non-judging and empathy.
While we wish to be epidemic free soon, I hope we can work on these three states in battling the epidemic. It is in fact, ‘LOVE’ that helps us to overcome obstacles and fight the virus away.
Reference:
Zlomuzica A, Preusser F, Schneider S, Margraf J. Increased perceived self-efficacy facilitates the extinction of fear in healthy participants. Front Behav Neurosci. 2015 Oct 16;9:270. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00270. eCollection 2015.
