Protecting and empowering children during the Covid-19 pandemic

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Protecting and empowering children during the Covid-19 pandemic

Children may be confined, but their rights are not!

Most experts and staff working at the Council of Europe have continued work from their homes, using technology and new working methods to achieve their important mission. This includes reviewing the measures taken to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and advising on how to mitigate any negative impact they may have, in particular on people in situation of vulnerability.

On this page, which shall be regularly updated, we are compiling the following :

  • the responses and links to relevant Council of Europe bodies,
  • responses provided by our member States through the Lanzarote Committee (CDENF)
  • a thematic response provided by institutional partners and international or european civil society organisations 

Council of Europe response

Thematic guidance

Country initiatives

Council of Europe response Council of Europe response

 

We are compiling the responses of Council of Europe bodies to the situations that worry us most and providing information on how to best protect children in their increasing online activities during the crisis.

 

Children can reach the world from home

The global sanitary crisis has brought unprecedented changes in our interactions and routines due to social distancing and confinement. In many countries, only essential businesses are functioning normally while many adults in institutions and companies work from home and children follow their school lessons online. Families, communities, businesses and governments are leaning heavily on internet, digital technology and social media to retain a semblance of normalcy and continue day-to-day activities and also considerably expanding their use for entertainment.

ICTs are allowing children to continue their education and to acquire new skills; to access information and to seek advice and support if they are worried; to play and keep in touch with their peers and loved ones. Screens are helping many children to cope with the confinement, but they are also exposing them to risks. Guidance on some of these challenges provided by different institutions and media can be found under the following headers.

Thematic guidance Thematic guidance

Children can reach the world from home

The global sanitary crisis has brought unprecedented changes in our interactions and routines due to social distancing and confinement. In many countries, only essential businesses are functioning normally while many adults in institutions and companies work from home and children follow their school lessons online. Families, communities, businesses and governments are leaning heavily on internet, digital technology and social media to retain a semblance of normalcy and continue day-to-day activities and also considerably expanding their use for entertainment.

ICTs are allowing children to continue their education and to acquire new skills; to access information and to seek advice and support if they are worried; to play and keep in touch with their peers and loved ones. Screens are helping many children to cope with the confinement, but they are also exposing them to risks. Guidance on some of these challenges provided by different institutions and media can be found under the following headers.

Talking to Children about Covid-19

Children have many questions and concerns and it is important for parents and carers to respond in the right way.

Adults, as well as children, may struggle to understand or to put things into context, with omnipresent information about this crisis.

  1. Listen to children and help them to express their concerns
  2. Speak plain and clear language, based on information that your government has provided you with; steer away from fake news
  3. Help them understand the rules of washing their hands, keeping a distance, respecting the rules and try to make also fun
  4. Make sure that they have understood your messages
  5. Try to keep them occupied with things that they like to do as a family

Further resources :

Parenting in times of Corona

Staying confined as a family during the Covid-19 crisis can be a real challenge for all family members. Different organisations have compiled very useful advice on how to make this a positive experience for all, and how parents can interact constructively with their children, stay positive, manage stress and support their children in filling their time with meaningful and healthy activities.

Further resources: 

Supporting teenagers during the period of confinement

Caring for teenagers during the period of confinement can be just as challenging as caring for smaller children. The teenage years are often the period of one’s life where social distancing from parents is part of seeking autonomy. Teenagers need space to be able to isolate themselves, exchange with their peers online, as they also need support to be able to pursue their schooling. Responding to all these needs likewise is a true challenge during the confinement. Make sure you respect your adolescents’ privacy, are mindful to listen to their concerns, try to give them attention and quality time to express themselves and their concerns.

Further resources:

Screen time during the crisis

How to deal with authorised screen times when children have to spend a few hours doing homework and would then wish to have leisure/social activities online too?

Much of the school activities, leisure/social activities, as well as time with friends and family outside the so called “nuclear family” have transitioned online during the Covid-19 crisis. Under these conditions, parents and caregivers must shift their pre-existing expectations and plans around screen time. This is an opportunity to schedule what is necessary for schoolwork, while perhaps thinking “outside the box” to include additional online time for educational leisure activities like virtual tours of zoos or museums or connecting with classmates via online games and networks. Children are not just learning school subjects online, but they can also learn about empathy and kindness while navigating the digital highway.

Further resources:

Finding quality content for children online

Children are being given access to the online world in unprecedented numbers, as parents and teachers are scrambling to bring educational opportunities online. The good news is that many educational resources, platforms and technologies have been created in the past few years, so it is just a question of becoming familiar with the technology, checking the privacy settings and incorporating a new manner of learning into our routines. There are many listings of educational apps and platforms and parents should read the reviews, ask other parents and reach out to the school community for more information on age ratings and appropriateness. Both the Pan European Game Information and Common Sense Media provide ratings for various age groups.

E-learning: mission impossible or opportunity?

Parents and caregivers can promote good learning practices by getting into a routine and setting rules for study: children should try to maintain their regular school hours as much as possible and work in a designated area for ‘school time’, keeping a distance to anything that can distract them (television for example). Parents and caregivers also need to remember that attention-spans vary with age, and whereas older children may be able to work on Power point presentations, the younger ones may prefer interactive cartoons or learning games. For teenagers, this is a great opportunity to grasp what a real-life office experience would be like. Whatever the age of the child, expectations and plans regarding how the online coursework will be achieved should be discussed within the family and adapted as time goes on.

The internet is currently full of many different platforms where educational material is provided for. Public authorities and media in various countries have already provided for online education and support; here are some examples:

Children’s online safety in times of social distancing

Children no longer have the outlet of playing at school recess or hanging out in the school yard and are not allowed to attend their regular leisure activities, so find themselves deprived of most of their usual social interaction outside the family. In this situation, some children may be feeling more isolated than others. This in turn may lead some of them to more daring online behaviour or more adventurous connections.

Both younger children and teenagers can be prone to being more daring and explorative during the confinement period, making them more vulnerable to being targeted and falling victim to grooming, cyberbullying, sextortion and other online risks.

Parents number one tool for digital parenting is dialogue and maintaining regular conversations with children will give parents the chance to intervene when they see that something is off. It is very important that parents and carers keep an open channel of communication and build a solid relationship of trust with their teenagers.

Further resources :

Children and violence: how to spot the signs and report?

Children confined with their parents, carers, and siblings may be exposed to an increase of violent behaviour on the part of family members, as many are facing increased pressure and stress in the crisis. It is important to note that corporal punishment is prohibited in a majority of Council of Europe member States. During the period of confinement, children will have even less access to professionals to whom they can report physical violence, abuse or even sexual violence. In many cases, teenagers would report incidences to their best friends, so parents should keep an ear out for such information from their child and report incidences as appropriate. On the other hand, an increase is also expected in domestic or intrafamily violence, where most of the victims will be women or children.

In these circumstances it is important that the state and NGOs sectors fully maintain all online services operational to report the occurrence or suspicion of physical or sexual violence.

Further resources:

Other interesting resources

Country initiatives Country initiatives

Albania

Austria

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Protecting and empowering children during the Covid-19 pandemic

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