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Head of Psychology of the University of Ghana, Prof. Joseph Osafo says the five months long stay of children at home could cause mental issues.

According to him, it is possible that the parents would lose control of their home because work will compete with parenting.

Prof. Joseph Osafo was worried about the latest development but also believed it is in the interest of the parents since the nation is still threatened by the novel Coronavirus.

President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his 16th update on COVID-19, announced that Junior High School form 1 and basic school children, currently at home because of the pandemic, will resume school in January, 2021.

"The Ghana Education Service, after further consultations, has decided to postpone the remainder of the academic year for all nursery, kindergarten, primary, JHS 1 and SHS 1 students. The next academic year will resume in January 2021, with appropriate adjustments made to the curriculum, to ensure that nothing is lost from the previous year. The relevant dispositions will also be made so that the presence, at the same time, in school of all streams of students, can occur in safety."

The President further empathized with the parents and families for the long period that their wards will have to remain in the house saying ''I appreciate fully the inconvenience and the financial burden the continued stay at home of children are posing to parents and guardians. Fellow Ghanaians, these are a necessary price to pay in our efforts to protect the lives of our children, as well as to limit and contain the spread of the virus in our country''.

Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', Prof. Joseph Osafo called on government and religious entities to support parents as their children stay home till next year.

He noted that the long stay of the children at home will create a lot of family problems as some children might fall out of good behaviour while others would practically adopt some violent attitudes particularly in homes where the parents will have to leave their children behind for work.

"They're going to develop all kinds of potential mental challenges. We know that, gradually as a nation, [parenting] parents are losing control in managing their kids especially in a cosmopolitan centers because work is competing with parenting . . . So we need a certain level of articulation on this as well that what do we do with parents?''

He called on the government and churches to assist the parents by rolling out programmes that will engage the children while they're home.

"It's a lot of time to really engage children, engage their parents and know what we can do to help them because, within the 5 months, so many things can happen," he asserted.

To the parents, Prof. Osafo advised them to also engage their children with interesting and educative things like reading to them or sharing stories that will excite them while at home.