Childhood Development

Karen Kochel is a psychology professor with expertise in childhood development. She encourages parents to not be too hard on themselves as they navigate their new normal.

Kochel says "parents should consider what research says about how children learn best."

"Strong emotional connections between parents and children can make formal teaching - the kind employed by your children's teachers - difficult and even ineffective. Opt instead for less formal teaching methods, like reading with your child, which doesn't have to be done during the workday," says Kochel.

"Research tells us that children's social relationships, such as friendships, are closely tied to their success in school. Providing children with opportunities to Zoom or otherwise safely interact with peers is probably just as important for their school achievement as supporting them academically."

"Parents may worry that excessive screen time will adversely affect their children. But, it's a cost-benefit analysis. In an era of social distancing, the benefit of using screens as a means for establishing interpersonal connection - an important developmental task for children and adolescents - will most likely outweigh any psychological cost of excessive screen time."

Contact Sunni Brown (sbrown5@richmond.edu), director of media and public relations, to connect with Kochel.