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Background, my kids are all teenagers now. I've always been working long hours and rarely get to enjoy my earned time off. I've never get to see my kids as much during normal times and with this pandemic it brings families closer than before.
In a typical working day, I would see my kids in the morning as I drop them off for school and then come home for dinner around 7pm and would only see them probably around 2 hours the most each day.
Now, we have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together everyday. My kids are healthier now since we have more time to prepare their food at home. My youngest son was getting overweight from eating too many snacks in the school. Now he is less overweight. My daughter was too skinny because she doesn't like school lunch but now she is gaining weight because she eats more food at home that she enjoys.
As for schooling, we ensure our kids are up everyday and have breakfast then hop on their remote school sessions and do their homework before they get to relax.
I also require they do more chores around the house just to stay active. I believe in the short run this is good for them. I would hope they can return to school by next Fall so they still have time to prepare for college entrance.
While it may be a blessing for you, and other families, with self sufficient teenagers it can be a real nightmare for other working parents. My friends with younger children (a four old and a kindergartener) are basically pulling their hair out trying to have both parents working full time at home. Luckily their jobs are pretty flexible, but many times they are working while the kids are asleep, such as from 4AM or 5AM or until midnight and taking turns with their kids during the day.
My other friend with three elementary school children, all of which need help with their school work, often all at the same time,(plus one child with special needs) is almost going crazy. She took an unpaid leave of absence from her job to manage it. Her spouse works from 8 to 5 on his computer for work in their bedroom (absolutely no flexible time at his workplace). Well, they do get to eat lunch together some days, which is a benefit.
OP, I am glad that the pandemic is a blessing for your family and some other working parents but I do not think that it is a blessing for "many working parents."
(BTW, I'm retired now, but I can't imagine how my husband and I would have managed it if we both had to work from home with young children and no school, no day care, no childcare and no summer camps. However, with teenagers there may have been some benefits (if you count, no sports practices and games, no dance classes, no other extracurricular activities, no enrichment classes, no volunteering, no activities with friends or relatives, no traveling, etc. and spending 24/7 at home with the immediate family as benefits.)
Last edited by germaine2626; 05-12-2020 at 01:48 PM..
I do believe good things have come out of this- More time with family, getting to know my kids better (5&9) including learning how they best learn,doing things I would not have taken the time do when life was busier, cooking healty meals from scratch and letting them get involved, teaching life skills, etc. However, this has only worked out for us because I was already a stay at home mom prior to this pandemic.
For many parents that can't work from home- I can't imagine all the issues. Hustling for childcare when all the centers were closed, not wanting to endanger family memebers by having them babysit, going to work to keep your job even when you feel unsafe.
Those that work from home have to jugle caring for their children and homeschooling them while maintaing their work load. It is hard to get anything done with children with you all day especially when you have to meet all their needs and don't get much personal space/ time with everyone at home.
Teenagers who can do their schoolwork fairly independently and help with the upkeep of the house? Sure, not bad at all. Young children who either need constant care and supervision or significant help with their lessons? Not so much.
Well, it sucks for us, and we're lucky. We have more freedom than many, and our twins are best friends, so they're not missing out much on outside socializing.
The biggest, among many downsides, is the fact that the kids haven't seen their grandparents in person in over 6 months on one side and over a year on the other. Now there's a good chance some of their grandparents will die before they get to see them again.
Background, my kids are all teenagers now. I've always been working long hours and rarely get to enjoy my earned time off. I've never get to see my kids as much during normal times and with this pandemic it brings families closer than before.
In a typical working day, I would see my kids in the morning as I drop them off for school and then come home for dinner around 7pm and would only see them probably around 2 hours the most each day.
Now, we have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together everyday. My kids are healthier now since we have more time to prepare their food at home. My youngest son was getting overweight from eating too many snacks in the school. Now he is less overweight. My daughter was too skinny because she doesn't like school lunch but now she is gaining weight because she eats more food at home that she enjoys.
As for schooling, we ensure our kids are up everyday and have breakfast then hop on their remote school sessions and do their homework before they get to relax.
I also require they do more chores around the house just to stay active. I believe in the short run this is good for them. I would hope they can return to school by next Fall so they still have time to prepare for college entrance.
Well while it works for you, it isn't for many.
Americans now more than ever, don't have the best image as to how other nations view us, and how we also view ourselves. This has become a very self absorbed country. Now not all, but the image is there.
So many have lost jobs, single moms, those who have special needs children, etc.
You should have perhaps called your thread "I'm doing OK with the kids home, how is it going for you?".
Americans now more than ever, don't have the best image as to how other nations view us, and how we also view ourselves. This has become a very self absorbed country. Now not all, but the image is there.
So many have lost jobs, single moms, those who have special needs children, etc.
You should have perhaps called your thread "I'm doing OK with the kids home, how is it going for you?".
Perhaps time to be more sensitive to others.
That's live to work problem with Americans. You should put your family first and foremost and make decisions prioritizing your family. Losing a job in this pandemic is not your anyone's fault and you can get longer term unemployment benefits and get rent or mortgage assistance. Feeding a family now shouldn't be a big problem unless you don't have enough savings and have too much debt. If you lost your job, other than paying for food and basic utilities, the rent and mortgage payments can be stalled if you work it out with the lenders.
Those single moms with special needs kids, now is the perfect time to spend some time at home with your kid instead of relying on outside care which can be very expensive. I know moms that have to drop their kid off daily at child care and it isn't cheap at all around here. Now with work from home, you can make adjustments to ensure you can take care of your kids and do your work.
Single moms should benefit even more from working from home.
Op, thank you for finding the good in this.
I am pleased you chose to share your experience here. It's yours to express.
Keep up the daily interactions.
I would suggest keeping an umbrella handy ..some like to rain on parades .
I like to March along
I am happy to be able to see my kids more. Prior to this I’d see them in the morning and when I got home from work at 530. Now I see them from when we wake up until they go to bed. 24/7. I am still working. As hard as this is I do appreciate being able to
See them. Whenever things return to normal I’ll probably be sad to see them less.
I homeschooled each of my kids through eighth grade so I was fortunate to have lots of time to spend with them when they were young. They are now 15, 17, and 20. It's kind of nice to have them all the time again, for me. Unfortunately, it's not so good for them.
None of them are getting the quality of education in their online classes that they were getting in school. The teachers cut way back on both instruction and testing. My oldest daughter couldn't complete her organic chemistry and physics labs. My younger daughter is changing schools after this year and did not get to finish out the year and say good-bye to her old teachers and friends; she also lost her retail job. My son isn't able to participate in sports and is playing too many video games. It will be much better for them when they can go back to school and work. This is the time when they should be spreading their wings and not spending months sitting in the house.
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