The lockdown has put virtually every parent with a kid under stress. Juggling work, homeschooling the kids, and the domestic life can be seriously draining. Bored Panda contacted parenting expert Dr. Laura Markham from Aha Parenting to find out how to maintain sanity during these days. She suggests “paring back your expectations and focusing on the most important things like helping your family stay healthy, supporting your child, and replenishing yourself.”
But it’s not only grown-ups who’re under stress. “Kids feel stressed because their whole world has suddenly changed and because parents are stressed,” explained Laura. It turns out, many children are having a hard time sleeping and they’re disappointed by missing out on all the things they took for granted, from playgrounds to seeing their friends.
But Laura is positive that lockdown parenting can work. She suggests learning mindfulness to manage anxiety, helping children with conflict resolution skills, and spending one-on-one time daily with each child to strengthen the bond. “You didn't choose this particular marathon. But you're learning something about your own strength and how to support yourself to be your best.”
Most importantly, the parenting expert assures us that “you can come out of this crisis stronger and more emotionally fit.” Your children will look back at this time and say "It was the coronavirus pandemic, but our family had so much fun together; we got closer!" And that’s when you'll realize the lesson nobody asked for was the one we might have needed
