Children in special circumstances need special attention

Children in special circumstances need special attention. Art and creativity-based activities for such children prevent stress, depression and promote self-esteem.

Parents usually love to spend time with their children. Even children wait for their vacation to spend time with their parents, siblings, grandparents and other relatives. But this summer vacation has not been the same for many families. Sudden changes in pattern of activities of daily living have created challenges for parents as well as children. Some of the children may adapt with the demands of the situation quite easily by spending time with their siblings, grandparents and parents.

The situation in home is not similar across families. Some parents have to work from home according to their shifts. Some children who are hyperactive might disrupt the routine of the family. Some parents are clueless ‘what to do’ and ‘how to handle’ children with special needs and children in special circumstances. Dr Jayasankara Reddy K ,professor department of Psychology,CHRIST (Deemed to be University) says “When children experience extreme stress due to difficult circumstances, they are more vulnerable to develop low immunity and some children may become hyperactive or withdrawn in their interaction with others. Parents should tackle the anxiety and stress among children to boost their immunity”.

Benefits of creative activity with learning disability:

Ms. Nayana Mariya Kuriyan, PhD Scholar, Department of Psychology, CHRIST(Deemed to University), under the guidance of professor Jayasankara Reddy K, has explored the benefits of creative activity for 100 children with specific learning disability. They found in their study, art and creativity-based activities for such children prevent stress, depression and promote self-esteem. In her experimental research the study group participants significantly improved from their negative thoughts and depressive mood after participating in structured activities such as sand art, drawing, story sequence writing, designing dress out of paper, constructing structure of a bridge and house with cards, dance, collage making, best out of waste activity and writing titles for small video clips have helped children to an extent to cope with the stress associated with their educational setbacks.

Ms. Nayana Mariya Kuriyan recommends in this crisis period home based creativity stimulation tasks will easily distract the minds of children and enhance their self-esteemthrough constructive ways. Creative tasks are excellent platform for venting out their supressed frustrations. It gives them an opportunity to showcase their skills through social media. Meanwhile parents can also engage and supervise such activities and de-stress themselves. Many European studies have also identified creativity as the 21^st century’s skill for solving emotional crisis and problems in day today life. Let us not miss the opportunity to open our paint box and start brushing for a brighter future in this challenging situation.

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