Being a parent during the pandemic

Under the permanent stress of this pandemic, I’ve got to the conclusion that it’s important to remember that we are best able to take care of our children and our teenagers, if we take really good care of ourselves.

Remember, we create the atmosphere in our home and if we’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed, it’s hard even impossible to create the supportive and positive environment that we want to have for our children.

In order to recharge, there are three things we could do:

Make sure you’ve got good social support. This means having someone you can tell our worries to, and a person or a group who helps you to feel connected and accepted.

Happy distractions. Make sure you have happy distractions. This means taking a mental vacation from the pandemic or even the challenges of being a parent sometimes. Find something that you enjoy and that recharges you, so you can come back to parenting with the energy you need and want to have.

Make sure you’re taking great care of yourself physically. Try to get enough sleep, be active, eat well and enjoy what you’re eating. Taking good care of ourselves is absolutely critical for being able to be the parents we need and want to be right now.

Remember, children learn to cope with challenges by watching how their parents manage difficult times.

Being kind to ourselves, especially in the context of the pandemic, offers our children a positive model for how they should take care of themselves both now and in the future.