“Parents be calming down”

My daughter was having her online class this morning and I was within hearing distance from her In between the class, the teacher asked a question and instructed all of them to unmute themselves as she called each person’s names one after the other....: She got to a particular girl but there was no response. “Kike(not real name) answer the question, we are waiting for you” Still no response. “Kike what is the matter, you are not saying anything...” continued the teacher. The next thing, I heard the loud voice of one of the parent.... “Can’t you talk? Are you not the one your teacher is talking to?” I peeped into the laptop and saw the poor girl terrified and looked on,...with the salted water already gathering at corner of both eyes... I honestly felt sorry for her. Parents please take it easy! I know the economic situation in this clime isn’t smiling... The light tariff was increased by almost 100% not long ago and another increase is in the pipeline... Fuel price nko? Dollar to Naira?...we are still praying. Coupled with the fear of COVID 19 variance! “Angel Michael, blow the trumpet already!” All these in turn have a ripple effect in the prices of basic consumables.... Please note, your children are not responsible for any of the above and for your information, they are feeling the heat also....they aren’t finding it funny staying at home instead of going to school! The best you can do is to empathize with them, you are the adult and you should be able to manage your emotions better than your kids... How do you expect a child to think straight and answer a question when all you do is yell!! When you yell at your child, series of emotional actions take place which can manifest in one or two ways: *fright - a sudden intense feeling of fear. He or she becomes confused, can’t think straight, unsure of what to say or do even when you are asking a question you think he should know....the look on the child’s face says it all! He stands or sit there, like someone who is rooted to the spot, not saying anything no matter how hard or high you yell! *flight : the feeling of fear can cause the child to run.....he might be standing in front of you but trust me, he is far away, he isn’t listening to anything you are saying,....you are talking to yourself! *fight : the feeling of fear may also cause the child to want to fight back by struggling to explain himself and the two of you now engage in a tug of war, chai! How then do you overcome yelling as an adult? We have a class coming up soon in the Parent Support group to that effect, it is a holistic approach....watch this space for update.