Mothers’ Perceptions of the Impact of COVID-19 on Family Communication and Children’s Play

Year 2024, , 19 - 52, 29.04.2024

Ayşın Noyan Erbaş , Gamze Bilir Seyhan , İrem Gürgah Oğul

https://doi.org/10.58563/dkyad-2024.71.2

Abstract

Purpose: The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, which has been effective worldwide, and the resulting 'social distance' and hygiene measures have led to changes in family communication behaviors and children's daily life activities. The current study aimed to reveal the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on family communication and play behavior of young children.

Method: In this study, which was conducted as a qualitative study, phenomenology was used. The study examined mothers' perceptions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family communication and children's play in Türkiye. A focus group discussion was held with a group of five mothers who had young children between the ages of 30 and 40 months.

Results: As a result of the analysis of the data obtained, three main themes emerged. These themes are listed as follows: (i) children's perception of COVID-19, (ii) the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on family communication (iii) and the impact of the epidemic on children's play and play materials. It has been determined that pandemic restrictions have positive and negative effects on family communication and children's play.

Conclusion: This research has revealed that the COVID-19 epidemic, which has affected the whole world, affects parents, children and their communication styles, as well as children's play behavior. Findings have shown that family life practices, children's behavior, and parents' mental health are both negatively and positively affected by periods of isolation due to the pandemic. It is thought that these research findings may help find effective ways to protect and improve the communication of children and families during the global epidemic and recovery processes.

Keywords

children, family, covid-19, parent-child communication, children's play, play behaviours

Annelerin COVID-19'un Aile İçi İletişim ve Çocukların Oyunları Üzerindeki Etkisine İlişkin Algıları

Abstract

Özet
Amaç: Dünya çapında uzun süre boyunca etkili olan Koronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) salgını ve bunun sonucunda ortaya çıkan 'sosyal mesafe ve hijyen tedbirleri aile içi iletişim davranışlarında ve çocukların günlük yaşam faaliyetlerinde değişimlere yol açmıştır. Mevcut çalışmada COVID-19 salgınının aile içi iletişime ve küçük çocukların oyun davranışlarına etkisini ortaya çıkarmak amaçlanmıştır. Bu çalışma literatürdeki bazı boşluklara odaklanmaktadır. Bu boşluklar şu şekilde sıralanabilir: İlk olarak, COVID-19 pandemisinin psikolojik sonuçlarını araştırmak amacıyla yapılan çoğu çalışma, çocukların oyunu üzerindeki etkileri göz ardı etmiştir. Bu çalışma, annelerin algılarına göre çocukların aile iletişimi ve oyun davranışlarına odaklanmıştır. İkinci olarak bu çalışma, pandeminin erken dönemine ilişkin annelerin deneyimleri aracılığıyla aile iletişimini incelemiştir. Üçüncü olarak, COVID-19'un aile hayatı üzerindeki uzun vadeli etkilerini araştırmak için birçok çalışma yapılmıştır. Bu çalışma ise pandeminin küçük çocukların oynadıkları oyunlar üzerindeki etkisini araştıran ilk çalışmalardan biridir ve aynı zamanda Türkiye'deki COVID-19 pandemisinin erken dönemlerinde ebeveynler ve çocuklar arasındaki ilişkinin doğasını da sunmaktadır.

Yöntem: Nitel bir çalışma olarak yürütülmüş olan bu çalışmada fenomenolojiden yararlanılmıştır. Çalışmada, annelerin, Türkiye'de COVID-19 salgınının aile içi iletişim ve çocukların oyunları üzerindeki etkisine ilişkin algıları incelenmiştir. Yaşları 30 ila 40 ay arasında küçük çocukları olan beş anneden oluşan bir grupla odak grup görüşmesi yürütülmüştür. Çalışma kapsamında veri toplama aracı olarak araştırmacılar tarafından bir odak grup görüşme formu geliştirilmiştir.

Bulgular: Elde edilen verilerin analizi sonucunda üç ana temaya ulaşılmıştır. Bu temalar şu şekilde sıralanmaktadır: (i) çocukların COVID-19'u algılayışı, (ii) COVID-19 salgınının aile iletişimi üzerindeki etkisi (iii) ve salgının çocukların oyun ve oyun materyalleri üzerindeki etkisi. Pandemi kısıtlamalarının aile iletişimi ve çocukların oyunları üzerinde olumlu ve olumsuz etkileri olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bu bağlamda, katılımcıların doğrudan ifadeleriyle desteklenerek bulgular alt problemler ışığında sunulmuştur.

Sonuç: Yürütülmüş olan bu araştırma, tüm dünyayı etkisi altına alan COVID-19 salgınının çocukların oyun davranışlarının yanı sıra ebeveynleri, çocukları ve onların iletişim şekillerini de etkilediğini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Bulgular, aile yaşamı uygulamalarının, çocukların davranışlarının ve ebeveynlerin zihinsel sağlığının, pandemi nedeniyle yaşanan tecrit dönemlerinden hem olumsuz hem de olumlu şekilde etkilendiğini göstermiştir. Bu araştırma bulgularının küresel salgın ve iyileşme süreçleri sırasında çocukların ve ailelerin iletişimini korumak ve geliştirmek için etkili yolların bulunmasına yardımcı olabileceği düşünülmektedir. Bu çalışma, pandeminin çocukların oyunları üzerindeki etkisini sadece annelerin görüşleri aracılığıyla incelemiştir. Bu nedenle, gelecekteki çalışmalar babaları ve çocukları da içerebilir. Yapılacak olan boylamsal bir araştırma pandemi sonrası aile yaşamını daha iyi anlamaya yardımcı olabilir. Ayrıca, ebeveyn görüşmelerinin ötesinde ek veri toplama araçlarının kullanılması bulguların derinliğini artırabilir ve pandeminin çocukların iletişim ve oyun davranışları üzerindeki belirli yönlerine daha kapsamlı bir bakış sunabilir.

Keywords

çocuk, aile, covid-19, ebeveyn-çocuk iletişimi, çocuk oyunları, oyun davranışları

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