Many Standard One Students Are Expected to Face Illiteracy Problems in 2021!

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected almost all sectors, including education. Starting last March, school sessions were disrupted, especially in the red zone areas. This situation is very worrying for parents because we are in for a new school year in 2021.

Many admit that learning sessions online or at home are less effective because they have experienced a variety of distractions that disrupted children's focus.

There will be an increase in the illiteracy rate of Standard One students in 2021

According to Datin Professor Mariani Md Nor, a child psychologist from the University of Malaya (Centre for Continued Learning [UMCCed]), preschool children who are set to start Standard One in 2021 will experience a high possibility of encountering spelling and counting problems.

"Students aged 5 to 6 years are actually not mature enough to focus on their own learning. However, if parents can spend more time monitoring them while they are studying at home, this won’t be a problem,” she explained.

As a mother who has a child who will be starting primary school in 2021, Wawa Shauqi said she felt quite concerned about this issue.

Fret not! Read on for some tips to overcome this.

Tips to prevent children from falling behind in their studies

#1. Ensure your child does not have any special developmental delays

Look out for red flags in your child's developmental milestones especially during the critical ages between 0 to 5 years. Check out this article for early warning signs that your child might require special education needs. If you are worried that your child’s behaviour, development or learning progress may be a cause for concern, the essential beginning step is to ask your child’s doctor for a developmental screening in speech, language, fine and gross motor, hearing, and vision.

Excessive visual and auditory stimulation exposure make it difficult for children to focus while studying. Therefore, it’s important to control their screen time on digital devices and replace it with other structured activities or physical movement.

#3. Master the basics of 3M

This includes the ability to sit still on a chair, concentrate, hold a pencil properly, and knows his shapes, colours and alphabets. It’s important that the child can read independently too. Having a strong foundation in these basics will boost the child’s self-esteem and confidence as he transits into a new schooling environment in primary school.

#4. Have good social and communication skills

You need to make sure your child is good at waiting for their turn, sharing, responding to friends or teachers and having good emotional control.

This includes being able to tell the teacher if he wants to go to the toilet. In fact, many students feel isolated because they are afraid to speak up, some do not even know the name of their parents!

Train your child to start sleeping early and waking up early. This is to ensure that they get enough sleep, so that they will feel comfortable sitting in class for a long time. Not getting enough sleep can cause unnecessary tantrums and for them to easily lose focus on their studies.

In addition, parents should familiarise children with storytelling, playing and learning through books. So that they will acclimatise to increased usage of books in their primary school lives.

The most important thing is that you need to make sure that the child's mentality is strong enough to handle the transition to primary school. As a parent, be there emotionally to support your child through his learning journey.

Check out this next article for more tips on how to prepare your child to transit to Standard One from kindergarten.

This article was first published on theAsianParent.