i’m not bothered by my daughter, i’m terrified for her...
I am little triggered, so please excuse the hint of shade. I’ll throw it a couple 😂’s to cut the tension. 😂 - see, it worked already!
So I recently read a post online about how parents are crazy for sending their children back to school now that many schools (at least in my area) are offering on-site instruction. The poster mentioned that some of these parents are bothered by their kids being home all day with them. Now is that true? - Yes…. but it’s so much deeper than that!
We’re not just bothered. We are terrified.
Terrified of losing our jobs.
Terrified of losing our children and family members because this disease is real.
Terrified for our and our children’s mental health during quarantine.
Terrified of losing our sanity (seriously) because, for a lot us, this is the worst time of our entire lives.
A lot of people were struggling and barely hanging on pre-March. We absolutely have to keep that in mind for everyone, but especially for caretakers and parents.
Even though we decided NOT to send Emery back to school onsite, it was a real discussion for us. Working from home with a toddler became impossible, even though we’re both home. She’s 3, and needs constant attention, redirection, and snacks lol. And while I would love to be able to focus on only her, I don’t have that privilege. This is why we’ve always had childcare, and were willing to pay $$$ for it. Luckily for us, however, our Covid-Crew fam stepped in, so we now have coverage for E for a few hours every weekday.
I truly commend the parents who have figured out a system for them though, because a lot of us have no idea what we’re doing. All we had to eat today were the bags of snacks we keep hidden from the kids in weird spots throughout the house, and its 4pm sis 😂! Just know, none of these options are easy decisions. No one is 100% happy and every parent is feeling some sort of guilt, shame, and/or confusion. And if you’re not, you might actually be a unicorn.
I have real life friends who have decided to send their kids back to school. I have friends who were financially able to leave or cut back on their jobs to stay with their kids and teach them full-time. I have friends who still work full-time and assist with remote learning all day. I also have friends with no children who are working remotely. You know what they all have in common?? That same defeated and exhausted look with no real solution in sight….
I think it’s really easy to make assumptions about why parents make the decisions they make (but yes, some parents are just nuts 😂), but remember that these are unprecedented times for new parents and even vet parents alike. We’re all trying to make it work for our families, and that’s not going to look the same across the board. If you can, offer assistance, check in, and just engage in dialogue. And if you’re not into that, I have a great nonprofit that you can donate to. I bet you’d learn something that’ll shift your perspective just a bit!
I haven’t even gotten into the lack of “me-time” and time for my marriage in the wake of this mess, but that’s enough for a whole new post. Stay tuned for that!!
Have you or a parent you know finally made a decision for the fall? What are your thoughts?? Let me know in the comments or DM me at @noemiegaines.
XO
Noémie
