32 Parents Having A Worse Day Than You

To find out more about the challenges of modern parenting, as well as how the coronavirus pandemic has changed the ways parents raise children, Bored Panda spoke with Holly Connors, a lifestyle blogger and a working mom of two girls. After working in psychology for a decade, Connors is now the creator of the “Simplify Create Inspire” project, which helps families make their lives easier. She happily shared some useful and illuminating insights.

Raising kids through the pandemic has posed a variety of challenges for many parents. Holly told us that for some, “it has resulted in increased stress and anxiety due to the uncertainties that come with the virus.”

“Parents have had to make tough decisions around safety, schooling, and childcare while all learning how to adjust their work-life balance. Some of these cautions have remained as parents adjust to the new normal,” she explained.

Moreover, many parents had to become teachers overnight, Holly argues, by helping their children adjust to temporary homeschooling or remote learning. “This has caused parents to address their children’s educational needs more than ever and for some parents, this has given a greater view of what goes into educating our kids and allowed them to maintain a more pivotal role in their children's learning.”

As if that wasn’t enough, “the pandemic also limited the social life of many families, reducing time spent with extended family or friends.” Holly explained that this can be particularly challenging for younger children since they “rely heavily on social interaction with their peers and is most definitely one of the biggest challenges we found in our household with a child in their first year of formal schooling suddenly learning from home.”

“As a result,” Holly continues, “parents needed to become more creative in finding ways to keep their kids connected and entertained in the changed environment, with extra reliance on technology to fill the gap.” And although technology can be wonderful for this purpose, Holly believes that “it has also been harder to reign in those habits, now telling our kids to get off their devices and go spend time with peers in person again.”

With more and more things fighting for our attention these days, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed as parents. Holly argues that “we are all overstimulated and most of us are guilty of neglecting self-care.”

Luckily, she has some very useful advice to spare. “The simple act of taking time for yourself each and every day can have a huge impact, along with well-being basics such as getting enough sleep, eating well, drinking lots of water, and moving your body,” Holly said.

Another tip from Holly for overwhelmed parents is “setting up routines and schedules in the family home can also make a big difference in managing the overwhelm.” She gave some examples: “a cleaning schedule to keep on top of your regular household management tasks, a meal plan so you know what is for dinner each day and can streamline your grocery shopping and giving your kids age-appropriate chores to lend a hand around the home.”

Importantly, kids who do chores are gaining independence, responsibility skills, and confidence, Holly said.

And finally, “it can also be helpful to practice gratitude and mindfulness each day, as these techniques have been proven to help reduce stress and increase happiness,” the author of “Simplify Create Inspire” said.

We also wondered if there are new parenting trends and styles emerging, and Holly said that the ongoing impact of the global pandemic has certainly changed the way many parents approach parenting.

“We are seeing a shift in priorities, with more focus on family time and mental health for all members of the household,” she said.

“Many parents are also reevaluating their views on education, looking for alternative approaches to learning such as homeschooling that may better suit their children or taking the leap and traveling as a family, and digging deep into exploring their home country (or abroad),” Holly concluded.

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