CHILDREN’S SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND ACADEMIC BEHAVIOR DURING SECOND WAVE OF COVID-19: A PERCEPTION OF SOUTH ASIAN PARENTS

The study explores the perception of parents about their children’s social, emotional, and academic behavior during the pandemic, moreover explores the change in parenting style throughout the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in South Asia. A phenomenological survey was used in the study. 171 parents from South Asia were selected through convenience and purposive sampling technique. An electronic selfdeveloped phenomenological survey questionnaire was distributed through Whatsapp/Email, Moreover 10 parents were also interviewed for triangulation. Descriptive data was analyzed on SPSS-24 and qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis. It is found that during the first wave of pandemic COVID-19 lockdown, children were very happy, excited, and active. However, due to long-term school closure, now they are not as much happy but frustrated and they become bored as well. The parents also observed friendly, respectful, and helpful behavior in the children. It is also found that the children love to play, to spend time watching T.V. and on social media, but they didn’t show much interest in online study. Parents are also not satisfied with the online classes as the children do not understand content properly. However, this COVID-19 lockdown polished parents’ technical skills, and they spend their quality time with children by discussing education and social wellbeing. Findings suggest that children sleeping timing have changed as before lockdown, children used to sleep around 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., but during the lockdown, this routine has changed, and they are sleeping around midnight. The study recommends that adults must be provided with correct information and advice about how their personal well-being and children's well-being can be impacted by this stressful situation.