A Parent's Dilemma: Should We Send Our Child Back to School? (Ft. Malaysian Actress Shera Aiyob)

After almost a year of online classes, is it time for children to head back to school?

With the daily number of COVID-19 cases on the rise, parents are facing an agonising decision about whether to send their children back to school or not. 

There is no doubt that children will benefit from being back in the school environment given that they are increasingly losing interest in attending online classes. 

"It is a difficult decision for us to make but it will be beneficial for our son's (Anaqi's) well-being to be back in school. Of course we are worried but we can only pray for him and do what we think is the best for him," says Malaysian celebrity Shera Aiyob, who is also a stay-at-home mum. 

At first, I was worried because the cases kept on increasing. But after discussing with my husband, we decided to just send our son back to school and pray for the best. One of the reasons why we have decided to do so is that his school is re-opening in stages – so it won’t be as crowded in the school. And if there are any negative changes to the situation, we will reconsider whether to keep him at home and continue with online classes instead.

What do you tell your son when he's back in school?

Since we can’t monitor what happens in school, we always remind Anaqi about the safety measures that are in place to help keep us safe during this pandemic, such as washing his hands, not to touch others and to keep a healthy distance from his friends and teachers. And after school, he will have to take a shower and preferably, spray all his school supplies with an anti-bacterial sanitiser!

In addition, Shera will try to include immune boosting foods into her son's diet. She will make sure Anaqi drinks plenty of water, eats lots of fruits and vegetables, and takes his daily vitamins. Since Anaqi loves his fruits, so it's not a problem for Shera.   

Initially when I received the email telling me that my son’s school will re-open again, I was okay about it and intended to send him back. I felt like he has been facing the screen a lot from online classes and being away from school for a prolonged period of time can bring up feelings of isolation for him. However, I can’t deny that I still have mixed feelings about it, especially 1-2 days before we were due to send him back to school.

How do you feel about having the option to send your son back to school or continue learning through online classes?

Since some parents opted to keep their children at home to continue with online classes, my son’s school is not as crowded. So, I’m a little more relieved. Weighing up what is in the best interests of your child during a pandemic is definitely a very difficult process, but for us, right now, I feel it’s best for Anaqi to go back to school.

This article was first published on theAsianParent.