The Social Observatory Research Programme of The Research Council (TRC) recently hosted a webinar on “Parenting Techniques during Home Quarantine”. The webinar was moderated by Dr Said al Dhafri, Director of the Social Observatory, and involved the participation of 65 researchers, academics and parents from inside and outside the Sultanate, including the participation of SayyidahDr Taghreed al Said, Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology, College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), and Sayyidah Basma al Said, a Mental Health Consultant and Owner of Whispers of Serenity Clinic.

The webinar started with Sayyidah Dr Taghreed highlighting the issues of parenting among Omani families while in home quarantine in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to being confined to their homes, she stated that many challenges arise among the families, whether between the parents themselves or between the parents and their children. She added that parenting methods can vary due to different factors such as the size of the family, the extent of its connection to the extended family, its geographical location, place of residence and other factors.

In regards to the most common parenting techniques in Oman, Sayyidah Basma mentioned that there are parents who treat their children with the traditional methods drawn from customs and traditions (extreme firmness, children having no word, etc.) and there are those who treat their children with modern upbringing methods (dialogue with the child, children having the right to make decisions, children expressing their feelings freely, etc.). She maintained, however, that choosing one of the methods and sticking to it can affect the children’s lives negatively; therefore, she suggested that the parents should adopt balanced methods in raising children by combining the old and the new. Sayyidah Dr Taghreed stated that there are four main factors that affect the methods adopted by parents in their dealings with children, and they are personal factors (personalities, ideas, issues and previous experiences), family factors (divorce, domestic violence and marital disputes), societal factors (intervention of the extended family, the media, social media, customs and traditions and religion) and global factors (the Internet and the virtual world). With the COVID-19 circumstances, Sayyidah Basma believed that home quarantine is an opportunity for parents to get to know their children closely.

She hoped that the atmosphere will be appropriate to adopt positive methods of dealing with children, which combines firmness and softness. She indicated that home quarantine is an opportunity for parents to review and correct many matters of how they raise their children. It is also an opportunity to examine the dynamics of the relationships among family members and to provide a space for creativity and achievement. Sayyidah Basma emphasised the importance of having a daily routine during home quarantine. She pointed out that home quarantine can create chaos in households with the all the free time, such as continuous sleeping during the day, not organising regular meals and not spending the days like usually. OmanObserver