Mommies weigh in on pandemic parenting
Published:Monday | November 2, 2020 | 12:09 AMKrysta Anderson/Staff Reporter
The general consensus is that parenting during this global pandemic has presented many challenges. After assuming their maternal roles, these superwomen go into hero mode, morphing into their children’s teachers, unofficial classmates, nurses, guidance counsellors and chefs, all the while working full-time in or out of the household, and functioning as confidantes and companions to their spouses. How do they do it? Flair asked a few mommies to weigh in on the struggles of pandemic parenting.
Shaniene Campbell confessed that she wondered at times if she was really coping well under the circumstances. “Mommying more than usual is very hard. When the children go off to school, even if you are at work, you get a little time away from them. I’ve learned that it’s not a bad thing. Some time apart is good,” she said.
This mother of one is also balancing her household with eight other children who are all homeschooling. “With several children in my home at different grade levels, I’ve had to set up different classroom spaces for each and get very involved in all of the schoolwork.” And as a working mom in media, she goes out every day to fulfil her eight-hour shift.
Despite the setbacks, she is happy to report that they have been making it work as a family. Classes are attended, classwork and homework completed on time. Whenever the burden is too much for her to bear, Campbell shifts her focus to some well-deserved self-care. “Self-care for me at times is as simple as a long shower. Other times it’s a trip to the hairdresser, watching Netflix here and there or an hour out for drinks and adult conversation. Just anything that will allow me to let my hair down and recharge,” she added.
Terri-Ann Jarrett can relate to Campbell’s struggles. The mother of three is a full-time chef who finds it difficult to maintain the structure she knew and loved. “I have two high-schoolers who are pretty independent. The only setback is when they are locked out of a virtual session. Instead of calling the teacher to let them into the online class, they call me to fix the problem, and then I have to play the middleman between them and the teacher, throwing off my work flow in the kitchen as a result,” she revealed.
Other worries she highlighted include having to feed them around the clock because they are given more break time than usual, or they are bored and try to fill that gap with meals and snacks, so it’s non-stop daycare whether or not she is present in the home. Her major concern has to do with her last child who is a preschooler. After sacrificing in these harsh economic times to purchase a tablet for her preschooler, her teacher insists on teaching via WhatsApp.
A frustrated Jarrett elaborated further, “I’ve told the teacher that my daughter has a tablet, not a phone, and sending the activities to my WhatsApp while I am at work doesn’t make any sense.” She explained that the teacher should be using Google Classroom but is yet to set it up.
“And so far, the videos she sends to watch have already been viewed long before it was assigned. So guess who is bored out of her mind and wants more work to do?” she quipped.
Taking time for herself, she admitted, is out of the question for now. “I was accustomed to the free time when I arrived home from work while they were still at school. Now, I have to settle for the bathroom and any special occasion that requires celebrating my loved ones.”
Hairstylist Camille Francis also declared that it hasn’t been easy working and homeschooling. “It is rough but I am trying my best with my daughter because she is not a big fan of schoolwork. So, I have to put out the extra effort for her to learn and listen.” These days, Francis’ ‘me time’ only exists when her daughter has gone to her bed, and that will have to make do, for now.