Parenting During a Pandemic

The pandemic has changed all of our lives and for the past few weeks family members have been together at home due to self-isolation requirements. I have come to realize that those who are experiencing great frustration are the parents of school-age children and their teachers, who are not allowed to be together in the school setting. Here are some of the concerns I hear:

1. Many children do not have established routines and sleep late, so they miss Internet sessions with their teachers.

2. Parents don’t know how to help with assigned lessons, especially math.

3. Relationships between parents and children are strained because school work is not being finished or it takes hours of discussion before it is completed.

4. The fact that students are approved despite a lack of effort or progress removes motivation.

5. Some parents and students have just given up and no longer make school a part of their lives.

If you are having any of these or other difficulties with schoolwork, perhaps some of the following ideas will help:

1. Become a partner with the child and his teacher to set goals, learn strategies, and share responsibility.

2. Try to “work with energy”. Set an alarm for 15 minutes during which your child will work hard and fully concentrate on homework. When the alarm goes off, it will reset it for the same period of time and allow the child to do whatever they want. I think you will be surprised to find that it only takes two or three cycles to complete all the work! (This technique works in adults as well.)

3. Access free resources like Kahn Academy to help with difficult concepts.

4. Help your child learn life skills like telling time, counting, cooking, and writing, as these things will stay with him forever.

5. Always encourage and participate in reading activities. You can listen to the child read, read to the child, or share a book with each of you reading one page at a time. Think about the child’s interests and choose books in those areas. For teens, choose biographies, as they usually contain nuggets of wisdom to overcome difficulties.

It can be frustrating for adults to see children neglect tasks while spending hours on technology. Learn how to set and enforce limits for your use. Plan interesting activities to do as a family. Make sure children understand that school is their job. Your attitude will directly impact their attitudes.

I’ve always believed that your job as a parent is to lose your job! That means you help your child learn to live healthy and independently. Pandemic or no pandemic, that goal does not change.

Here’s the good news – you’ve learned a lot in your life, and you can reflect on the ways that helped you. You may not be a teacher, but your love and desire for the child to succeed can be used as motivation for both of you! Don’t be afraid to get creative or seek help from other friends or family.

Learning can be fun! You just need to commit to investing some time, energy, patience, and praise so that you and your child can be successful!