In addition to attending school online, many students are also taking care of their siblings while they are at home.

Having to take care of one’s siblings during school time can be hard sometimes with having to stay focused in classes while at the same time keeping an eye on them. It can be a struggle to keep up with what is happening in class and also monitor what one’s siblings are doing, ensuring they do not make a mess.

“The struggles while taking care of siblings during classes are that if you have a toddler or a baby, it’s hard because you need to balance the time on watching them because you never know what trouble they get into,” said freshman Nayeli Gutierrez.

However, babysitting could be distracting to many students during class time. If they were in a breakout room, it may not be as distracting, but if the student is taking a test/quiz, it could get really distracting. 

“Taking care of your siblings can affect your work time because since they are so young they need to be supervised a lot, and that could constantly make you lose track of time or forget out your homework,” said freshman Sanaa Jones.

There are many reasons why a student may be babysitting siblings. For example, some parents need their older children to help at home because they are working, while some students are babysitting for the money. 

“My mom works, so my sister and I work together to take care of our siblings while we are in class,” said sophomore Dayana Estrada.

Not only do students take care of their siblings, they may also tutor/teach them. This could include helping them with their school work or teaching them new things so that they can practice. 

“I don’t really tutor my brother, but when he needs help with math or even needs me to explain a question, I’ll do it with him,” Jones said. 

Students help tutor their siblings so that they learn more. Since most kids use the internet, a good way of teaching them could be by showing them YouTube videos where they get taught how to say the alphabet, numbers, and more. 

“I’m teaching my 4-year-old brother and my 2-year-old sister how to say their ABCs and how to write,” Estrada said.

Tutoring could be a great way to help one’s siblings get smarter and learn more. It could also help them explore more stuff that they have never learned before. 

“I came up with the idea of tutoring my siblings because again I’m the oldest and I taught them mainly everything,” Gutierrez said.