My husband and I had a huge fight this week.
And by fight, I mean the kind of yelling match that lingers in the air for days after, leaving everyone feeling raw, exhausted and regretful of their behaviour. The kind of fight that only happens once every few years.
We call it the germs.
You may be finding yourself with extra time on your hands these days – or, if you’re like many parents, you’re actually swamped with remote work, attempting to homeschool and/or exhausted from parenting your stir-crazy offspring 24 hours away with no break to speak of (can you guess which camp I’m in?). The year 2020 has been magical, yes? What a time to be alive!
We all know there’s no “i” in team, but as we’re learning, you can’t spell “pandemic” without “panic.”
By now, I’m sure we’ve all heard about Montessori schools and Montessori-style parenting. If you’re not familiar, the Montessori method of education is for children of all ages and levels and includes a lot of hands-on learning and practical life skills. This style of parenting has become very popular over the last few years and with everything going on in our world right now, it will likely become even more popular.
The past few weeks have been a time of transition for parents all over the globe. We are now being tasked with being remote employees, homeschoolers, chefs, housekeepers, and the list goes on. Since we are stuck at home with our darling children, now is a great time to connect with them and keep them fed! Put those busy hands to work and have them help in the kitchen. Cooking at home with kids may sound stressful to some, but it doesn’t have to be. There are plenty of tasks that they can help with, and give your littles a sense of accomplishment. A win for everyone involved!
I don’t know about you, but my email, WhatsApp, Voxer, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Messenger inboxes are full of messages about what us parents can be doing during this extended Covid-19-related school break.
Life with children can be unpredictable. Things pop up out of the blue that you need to manage: various accidents and spills, an unexpected illness, birthday parties, and the dozens of other things you need to respond to week in and week out. While you can’t always plan for those things, there are elements of life with children that you can predict. And having systems in place is the key to staying organized even when life throws you a few curve balls.
To say I’ve ever had a parenting ‘strategy’ is a bit of a stretch but if I did it would probably be best described as ‘free range’ or, ‘hope for the best.’ I’m not a helicopter parent and I don’t see danger everywhere. Each of my daughters ziplined across a Mexican jungle and cliff-jumped into the ocean before her eighth birthday. (Please don’t judge me for any of this, we have enough problems right now!)
With the recent closure of schools and daycares across North America, parents have been faced with the task of entertaining their kids at home for the next few weeks (at least). Listen mamas, the reality of all of this is that it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be boring, and we’re all going to go a little bit stir crazy. It’s a completely necessary measure and it’s our responsibility to take it seriously and stop the spread of this pandemic. But, that doesn’t change the fact that everyone’s kids are home and they’re ALL asking the same question: What are we going to do today?