Parenting in a Pandemic

Parenting is harder now than ever. Not to mention little eyes are watching you like never before. The way you handle this crisis will be forever ingrained into how your children will learn to handle struggles or difficulties they face. So take this opportunity to make the best of every situation and see the GOOD IN IT.

CONTROL THE THINGS YOU CAN:

-One thing that you will always have control of is MAKING MEMORIES with your family. The things you do with your kids right now are stories that they will hold onto and share with their families one day.

Things Like:

1. Make a blanket fort in the living room and watch a movie

2. Live-stream a zoo/aquarium

3. Call/Facetime loved ones

4. Make play-dough/slime

5. Start a journal

6. Sing karaoke on YouTube

7. Play dress up

8. Let them help prepare a meal

-I encourage you to try to continue to stick to a schedule as much as possible. Include activities such as reading, riding bikes, playing with the dogs, and nap time. Having a daily routine will allow your children to feel a sense of security and reduce stress.

-How you handle things is a huge part of keeping in control of a situation. Teach your kiddos that though things may not go our way all of the time, we can always control how we react to them. Frustrated? Then we will go for a walk. Agitated with siblings? Learn to take a deep breath before speaking. Anxious about getting online school done? Set a time you will focus and a time to take breaks and relax. Let them learn how to handle situations by how you handle the new lifestyle we have all been sprung into.

LET GO OF THE THINGS YOU CAN'T CONTROL:

-We cannot dictate the path that this virus will take or where we will be in 6 months. BUT, be at peace with it. Take time to do a deep breathing exercise, walk, cry if you need to. Teach your kiddos that its okay to not always be okay. BUT its how we respond and bounce back from tough situations that counts.

-NO ONE will say, do or think the right things all the time. Allow yourself to make mistakes, we are human and it will happen. Rome wasn't built in a day and you won't become an Algebra teacher overnight. That's okay.

-Stressing over your job won't help you keep it. Kids watch and learn from you constantly. When they see you stressing over money or a job, they will feel the stress too. And lets be honest... at the end of the day, neither of you can predict or change the future. Let the worry and stress go. It will be better for you mentally but also take a physical burden off of your body.

These times will be written down in history books. No doubt. BUT the things that you will remember the most is the precious memories you made with your families and how you overcame adversity together. So when you're about to pull our hair out becoming a part time teacher, just remember this is an opportunity to grow.