Covid hit fast and in a hurry between business shutdowns, job losses, and uncertainty it has been hardest on parents with younger children especially
With unexpected events one after another, all of a sudden every kid was online, parents either relied on unemployment or struggled to work at home due to the major shift
Increased stress and uncertainty has made things even harder than before, new rules, and quarantine
COVID indefinitely is like something you see off a pandemic type movie minus the zombies
The stay at home parent
This is a daunting task for anyone that’s not used to staying at home, it’s difficult especially for households like mine where i work extra to compenstate financially for him being stuck at home being in house teacher
In our home roles has reversed, it’s a whole new ballgame for him and he struggles from time to time
We have three children in the house, one kindergartener, one middle schooler and one high schooler
So, two out of three need almost constant supervision, not to mention the back and forth of hybrid learning and remote learning
Depression has definitely increased from not being able to leave the house often or time away from kiddos, we all love our kids but, let’s be real they drive us crazy sometimes
The best I can try doing is taking care of things as I can after work to alleviate some of the stress
Little annoyances and issues magnify as there is more time home to notice it, such as a sticky honey mess in the cabinet or dishes piling up
The work a holic parent
That would be me, since covids arrival and my husband being home more working has been the name of the game
I’ve even gone as far as working another job on top of my current, some weeks are harder than others
Recently, my work week ended up being 13 days straight without a day off
It’s tough seeing him struggle daily with some household demands, but the relief comes when bills are paid and food is in the house seamlessly
Mental health as a whole in the house
My husband has been struggling but, adapting to the new demands
The oldest is somewhat adapting well, and improved grades in some ways
the middle schooler, struggled around christmas break, slept too much, stayed up too late, lack of appetite after the teacher knocking at our door with concern we cracked down and revoked priveleges, along with counseling(we already had case management)
Things started smoothing out when there was more one on one assistance with schooling and having him not try doing classes in his room, as well as a letter showing he was truant and that was a wake up call
Our youngest, rambunctious kindergartener filled with energy and unable to attend school every day has proven to be a challenge, which also made her motivation to complete work plummet
Some days it takes hours on a topic, others shes done in two hours, it’s been an interesting learning curve for all of us.
Wrap up
I’ll be the first to admit, our family isn’t perfect by anymeans but we usually have common grounds and goals
Mental health has been iffy for everyone, some days we don’t want to leave bed, others we feel like we can conquer everything
With having case management for the family and counseling for the kiddos has assisted in their overall moods and motivation level
For a while, my and my husband even drowned in mikes hard too much for too long, once we realized the issue we pulled back as well as introduced better foods around the house for dinner, more fresh cooking
While the younger of the two have poor appetites they at least still attempt to eat
How has covid affected your family?
Want to share your story ?
If you want to share your experiences and struggles since covid (if you want to remain anonymous that’s okay too 🙂 ), send me your story at adayatmoms@gmail.com
Depending on length, most of the stories will be in one post with credit given to the one who wrote each one
I look forward to seeing everyone’s stories and how the pandemic has affected your family
Until next time,
