When your life as parents of young kids has had a certain kind of order during the workaday life for so long, it is understandably hard to get go of this routine and form a different work ethic.
by Victor Cherubim
It was many moons ago when I was a parent, but during Coronavirus time, I felt it gave me an opportunity to recall what I did as a parent when we had my son growing up and considering what parents today have to do with working from home and looking after their child or children.
Many parents in UK are juggling today with the lockdown in their new roles of teacher,
Carer, cook, entertainer all together at once, while still maintaining other responsibilities, like working from home.
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| Education during pandemic |
Lockdown restrictions, except for Dominic Cummings, means parents across UK and perhaps all over the world will need to plan for a couple more weeks at home with kids.
For the past ten weeks, old routines have had to be readjusted, dropped entirely to keep the household running smoothly and after weeks of being stuck in doors, inside their homes, it is likely many parents feel worn down, a bit frazzled.
Every parent wants to do the best for their kids, but sometimes this can put them under a lot of pressure. The “Mum and Dad Bank” was the funding body for children at Universities prior to Coronavirus. Now the “Mum and Dad Guilt” has made parents worried whether they have the same amount of tolerance for their kids.
When your life as parents of young kids has had a certain kind of order during the workaday life for so long, it is understandably hard to get go of this routine and form a different work ethic.
Parents are becoming more disciplined and are strict
I asked a parent near my home who has two young kids, a boy six year old and a girl of four, this is what the mother had to say and I paraphrase as below:
“I keep up with my usual route wherever possible. The kids are up andready for the day by 8 a.m.Otherwise they have the temptation to just lose the day in their pyjamas. I know we’ve all had those days, when we are all stressed out, but now it has helped me to feel more mentally relaxed, especially as I’m still working full time from home. We have meals at set time. I take the children outside at least once a day, even when it is not sunny. I try to have fun time and be creative with the kids as best as I can between work. The new normal for us, even when mine decide its time to put the entire contents of my garden into my living room! The greatest support is what I receive from my colleagues who are also working from home.”
Looking for something to pass the time as many working at home are counting the days schools will reopen.
We know every parent is trying to make the impossible to be perfect, as they aim to be a good enough parent only 70 percent of the time. They teach them by their example how to apologise when they make mistakes. What they try to do is also show them what they don’t learn at school, how to cope with getting things wrong and how to say sorry and get a hug.
What is new at learning at home?
Kindergarten children we find have very short attention span, so what we hear from parents around the country being interviewed on T.V. is not to get stressed themselves trying out complicated activities. When a child is not interested or enthused in a craft activity, parents relate that they do not try to over think or worry too much. Parents are too learning how to get much more engagement from doing simple everyday things, like being involved helping to tidy up, or even helping to make supper.
While adults are spending time and money on the internet shopping, most parentsseem to be more careful with their limited resources. They are not spending money on toys to keep children happy, with shops being closed,
A new relationship with children
It seems parents are now able to have a new relationship with their children. While during a work day parents might never had quality time to spend chatting to their little ones, is what little ones really want, which they now seem to get from their parents.
What is having the time on their hands to watch what their children tell them that they do at school and helping in this dialogue, is a real breakthrough. Young children thanks to the Coronavirus are now able to put their feelings into words, direct to their parents, which they afraid to do to their teachers at school, for fear of castigation. This psychologists call “mind-minded” parenting. The young children now are able to realise that they have independent thoughts and feeling which, they are free to express direct to their parents.
Parents on the other hand are also getting a new dimension by this experiment of working from home with their kids in tow. They are avoiding making comparisons with other parents and their children. When before it was to complain: “my child doesn’t eat well or sleep well or study hard” is no longer a priority.
The greatest lesson parents are learning at this time is to find an activity to try actively observing and learn something together with their young ones, which they never had the opportunity before.
Coronavirus time has given many parents a special kind of bonding between father and son and mother and daughter, which they never would have experienced before.
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