COVID-19 Parents

Hello everyone. You may probably frown to read yet another coronavirus related article on this community as I was when I decided to write it as my first article in this platform.

We live and breathe COVID-19. We all want it to go away and for our lives to return back to normal. However, I find this difficult time phenomenal for analyzing people and their behaviors. This post is not about the pandemic. Instead, it is about people. Have you noticed any differences between people now from before?

As a kid, I remember my parents saying things along the lines of: “Back in my day…” I thought it was the absolute worst. As I got older, I caught myself looking at younger people, shaking my head and thinking: “Back in my day…” It is my belief that every generation goes through the same cycle. I feel that the pandemic gave us another layer of opportunity for such: “Back in the day…” reminiscing.

Back in the days before COVID-19, people complained about kids spending too much time in front of a computer/ tablet/ smartphone. They would boast about their childhood filled with wild adventures outdoors. Kids did not understand it. Why go outside if you can put on a VR set in the comfort of your own room and “see” the world?

Suddenly, a pandemic hits and people are told to stay indoors as much as they can. You would think it was a dream come true for those who fought their parents about going outside before the virus. Apparently, it is not.

In the UK, teenagers are lashing out against their parents because they are not allowed to go outside. There is talk about new forms of domestic abuse – parents abuse their children by not letting them go outside, and children abuse their parents with verbal and physical violence as a form of a rebellion against the regime. What are the kids really fighting for? Is it for their right to go outside? Or is it simply the age-old fight against parents and authority? Having lived in the past, I would dare to say that it is the latter.

In the US, a vast majority of states decided to close schools for the remainder of the academic year. Some closures are mandated by the state, while others are only strongly recommended by the government. Montana, Wyoming, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland decided to keep schools closed only until the end of May.

While chatting with my cousin, I found out that online tutoring is not what I thought it was. I imagined that kids woke up, powered on their computers, and then sat in front of them for the same amount of hours they would spend at school. At least in my cousin’s situation, the reality is different. Online school lasts an hour. Afterward, it is up to the parent to spend a minimum of four hours teaching their kid. There is a multitude of issues here.

I have to admit I snickered at my cousin complaining. They have nothing better to do, so what is the problem? But it did make me think of those households in which both parents have to work eight hours a day. How are THEY meant to homeschool their kids?

Figuring out how to juggle full-time work with full-time care for your kids is not easy. It definitely requires a lot of thinking, compromise, and sacrifice. However, I cannot believe the number of complaints I hear or read about parenting during a pandemic. All of a sudden, parents are finally faced with… parenting and they are flabbergasted. Having to work all day and then work some more when you get home to your kids is not easy.

But what did you think when you decided to bring a child to this world? Did you really believe that nannies and teachers would be enough to raise your kid to be a decent human being? Those people certainly play a significant role in the shaping our young ones but they are not a substitute for a parent. COVID-19 makes this more than obvious.

Instead of complaining about the lockdown, maybe we should learn how to be parents to our kids? If we ourselves cannot stand our kids, how is it that we expect others to deal with them?

Many parents are having a tough time handling their children during these pandemic times. How about you?

How has life been different for you as a parent amid a pandemic?

Have you learned something about yourself/ your kid/ your relationship with your child by having to spend more time with your offspring?

What are some of the tactics that help you keep your sanity?

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