Parenting Advice: How to Help Your Kids Deal with Zoom Fatigue

By Nicole Maher

As an adult who may be working remotely, you are mostly likely experiencing your own bouts of Zoom fatigue. Unfortunately, the same feeling could be present in your child as they continue or move to fully remote learning. Dealing with both your own Zoom fatigue and that of your child can be challenging, so try implementing some of this parenting advice to help you both conquer the struggles of working and learning remotely. 

Use this parenting advice to help your kids deal with Zoom fatigue as the pandemic continues.

1. Acknowledge your child’s frustrations: In an age where you are likely feeling an overwhelming amount of stress as a parent, it is still important to acknowledge the stresses of your child. If your child appears sad or angry due to their use of Zoom rather than being about to go to school physically, it is important to understand these feelings are valid. Allow your child to talk openly about being upset or frustrated with online learning and canceled extracurricular activities and show them that you are there as a supportive outlet through their struggle. 

Related Link: Parenting Tips: Combating Parental Burnout During the Pandemic 

2. Balance the work and fun: Zoom does not need to be used solely for online learning and meetings. One way to help your kids combat Zoom fatigue is to plan some online sessions that revolved around entertainment rather than just schoolwork. By planning online playdates with your child’s friends, or having them speak to over relatives over Zoom, they will not see the platform as something solely reserved for work. While an overuse of Zoom for entertainment purposes can still lead to Zoom fatigue, adding in a few fun sessions every once in a while should help your child think positively of the platform. 

Related Link:  Parenting Tips: Create a Positive Learning Environment at Home 

3. Change up the environment: While having a designated work area may help them focus, sitting in one place everyday to complete schoolwork or sit through classes can be exhausting for your kids. By occasionally changing up the location to somewhere else in the house, your child may feel slightly refreshed when logging onto Zoom that day. If your child does have trouble focusing, reserve one location for Zoom learning and a different one for Zoom playdates and conversations. This will help your child associate different locations with the need to study and others with rewards.  

4, Allow for the occasional skip: If your child was feeling sick or having a terrible day, you would probably allow them to miss a day of in-person class under normal circumstances. Even though their lessons are taking place remotely, this allowance to skip on bad days should still be present. By allowing your child to take the day off when they are not feeling well, you will prevent them from associating any negative feelings toward Zoom sessions, which could make their remote learning and online fatigue even more apparent in the future. 

5. Step away from the screen: Zoom fatigue can be carried and transferred from other screens even when you child is not in a learning environment. Try to control the amount of screen time your child experiences throughout the day, such as watching television or playing video games, so that they can take a break from technology altogether. Even if it is something as simple as going for a walk for half an hour or playing a board game after dinner, including activities not related to screens throughout the day can help your child deal with future Zoom fatigue while online. 

What are some other ways to help you kids deal with Zoom fatigue? Start a conversation in the comments below.