Living through a global pandemic is never easy. But what about living through a global pandemic with kids? You’re probably struggling trying to find a balance between home and work, while your kids are learning how to navigate a world that’s both new to them and new to us as it keeps changing amid the pandemic.
Parenting during the pandemic can be fraught with challenges like school closures, online education and changes in our workplaces—and the mental health fallout these changes bring. Here are 7 reasons pandemic parenting sucks, and how we can help.
1. The Rules Keep Changing
Your kids might be confused, and you might be too. Are your kids going back to physical learning spaces this six weeks? What about after that? It can be difficult to keep up with the changes. Your kids might have questions that you’re not sure you know the answers to.
Not to mention work. Are you going back to the office? On the hunt for a new job? Going back to remote work? In the pandemic it can be hard to tell where we’ll be, even just next month. Even if you’ve adjusted to changes in your schedules, it can be hard to adjust to the possibility of them changing on such short notice.
2. School Has Become More Stressful
One of the biggest changes the pandemic has brought has been to our education system. School districts are grappling with restrictions and outbreaks and trying to make the best of their situation, but it isn’t always ideal for us.
Our kids may be wondering when they’ll return to in person classes, and they may be struggling to adjust to their new schedule. Whether they’re learning in person or online, this means more challenges for parents trying to balance concerns about the pandemic and adjusting to schedule changes.
3. Work, School, and Home Have blurred
At one time, there were clear lines between school, work, and home. Not the least of which being that they were mostly held in separate locations. Now, we find our homes have often been turned into a place of study, work, and—well—living.
Being at home all the time might mean we’re struggling to find new boundaries and schedules that work for us. Online learning and work can leave us feeling like we’re stuck on repeat. Working from home while your kids are learning online might make you feel like the lines of your role have blurred too.
4. The Fatigue Is Real—For You And The Kids
We’ve been doing this dance for nearly two years now, and it hasn’t necessarily gotten easier. Your kids may be asking when online learning will end, and for parents, it can be exhausting filling dual roles as parents and educators, all when many of us are also working from home.
5. Our Kids May Be Lashing Out
It hasn’t been an easy time for any of us, but our children have even less frame of reference for these times than we do. Whether they’re learning online or they’ve recently returned to classes, between pandemic fatigue, living in closer proximity than ever, and the constant changes to our schedules we might find our kids have been lashing out.
It can be a struggle trying to find a good balance between discipline and patience when it feels like they’re constantly lashing out and you also have to juggle work and other obligations.
6. The Isolation May Be Taking A Toll On Our Kids
Childhood is an important time of social development, but during a pandemic it can be hard to balance safety and human contact that our kids need. You might be worried about the amount of social contact your kids are getting, and you’re also probably worried about risking their safety during a pandemic. All the while, your kids may be feeling a sense of loneliness they don’t entirely understand. This can leave you feeling worried about them no matter which decisions you make.
7. We’re Having To Make Tough Decisions About Work And Parenting
No matter what you prioritize during a pandemic, it can feel like you’re losing something. It can be difficult to know when to focus on work, when to focus on the kids, and even just when to wind down in the evenings. We might find ourselves struggling to balance work and parenthood, all while trying to keep peace in our homes. We might find ourselves making difficult decisions about when to be a parent and when to be a worker.
We Can Help
No matter what’s going on in your home, it’s normal to feel some stress being a parent during a global pandemic. But parenting in the pandemic doesn’t have to suck. Love Heal Grow is launching a 6-week online parenting class to help parents and caregivers who are struggling with many of the challenges that Covid has brought. Our focus will be on finding ways to make healthy and meaningful connections with our kids, even during these strange times.
If you feel like there has to be a better way to navigate the pandemic as a parent, there may be. If you’ve been struggling to find your balance parenting in the pandemic, you want to rekindle emotional connections with your kids, or you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the changes around you, we’re here to help. Email Daylyn@lovehealgrow.com to sign up for our online parenting class today!
