TBRI Tip #22: Online School
For many of you Back to School means online school. This can be a tough way for any child to learn but for kids from hard places, it can be especially difficult. This is because school online requires more ability to concentrate with less interactive stimuli. Being online also does not allow the use of the nonverbal cues that help kids from hard places feel safe. It also requires long, sustained time sitting in front of a computer, which can make it difficult to stay regulated. What are some ways TBRI Tips can help with online schooling? A specific concept we’ve talked about can be a game changer when applied to online schooling.
Apply Online School
For online school to be successful, kids need to be able to learn and calm/regulate themselves during the process. Your child cannot learn or regulate themselves unless the part in their brain that is hypervigilantly scanning for danger, the amygdala, switches off, and the thinking part of their brain, the prefrontal cortex, switches on. Therefore, a child with trauma history will need to first have their amygdala deactivated to feel safe. How do we deactivate our child’s amygdala? Felt Safety!
TBRI Tip #4-Felt Safety gives us the direction we need for each day to help our child be prepared for school online. Here’s a checklist to review and implement as needed:
1. Is my child hydrated?
2. Have they eaten a snack or meal within the last two hours?
3. Have I given them voice today by offering a choice or a compromise?
4. Today, have I been using my TBRI Engagement Strategies of soft eye contact, nurturing touch, behavior matching, warm voice and playful interaction? (Or did I hurry them to get up and get on the computer? Maybe I need to get them up earlier to have that connection time with them first.)
5. Have they done any physical activity/movement in the last two hours? You can do some jumping jacks with your kids in between classes or set up a 10 minute obstacle course in the house or outside that you can do each break. Or let them come up with their own ideas for movement breaks but plan to do it with them and make it fun!
6. Have I taught and practiced ways for my child to regulate themselves with my help? (You might think, I didn’t realize that would be part of helping my child feel safe. But think about when you are physically and emotionally regulated, you feel more in control and calmer.
7. Have I given them a schedule or chart so they know what to expect throughout the day?
8. Do I have transition warnings that help them to change from one activity to another more easily? For example, when your child is eating breakfast you can say, “Ten more minutes until class on the computer”, “Five more minutes until it’s time to go to computer”, then “Two minutes class begins so let’s go to the computer”. The normal transition time of driving to school is gone, so increasing the transitional support by giving these type of verbal warnings can help them make the mental shift to “school”. Similarly, do this type of transition warning after a break or lunch so they can be prepared to go back.
If this all seems overwhelming, pick just one or two to start with. Do those this week and add on as you feel comfortable. This proactive preparation will help the online school process be smoother and allow your child to flourish.