- My children were not cared for, so I had to homeschool them and cut back on my writing career.
- I remind parents going through the same thing of the highs and lows of parenting.
- Children are funny, and I am proud to be a parent of a child younger than 5 years old.
Thanks to the latest surge leading to school closures, a shortage of tests, and increased hospitalizations among children — compounded by the fact that children under age 5 are still ineligible for the vaccine — parents everywhere are in Anxiety Don’t despairThey feel overwhelmed.
I am one of those. rageful moms you’ve probably read about — foaming at the mouth, or more literally, crumpled on the floor in tears over how little society is doing to support us. Parenting is hard work in any situation. It’s almost impossible to raise a child during a pandemic.
But parenting — even during a pandemic — has its nice moments, too. Prior to my children become teenagers with hectic schedules, I want to be able to concentrate on the good times.
It’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions to parent through a pandemic.
Oscar, my 4-year old son, was expelled from preschool for his behavioral problems. We now homeschool him. I am a certified elementary school teacher, with a master’s in childhood education and three years experience teaching children in grades K-5. In 2010, I quit teaching.I agree, homeschooling is hard for me.
Teachers are a profession and not something that parents can pass on to their children. Teaching my child is not what I wanted to do.
But, I find that, just as I am about to give up completely and shove a computer screen in my face, something energizing occurs. I demonstrated to him last week how snowflakes made up the snow outside and how it looked up close when he used a microscope. His mind was blown away by my explanations.
You can fly when you’re sheltered in one place.
My daughter was born in December 2019, just three months after the outbreak. She’s now just over two years old and is a terror. She will do the toddler thing and demand a green bowl, then she melts when you give it.
Molly doesn’t know her colors but can count to 2. She loves the “Happy Birthday”Shopping, song, and baby dolls. To deal with her tantrums, while trying to get her brother to trace numbers and letters, is impossible. If I could find a daycare that would take her in, I would.
It is amazing to watch the little things I have squeezed from my vagina grow into a person.
Every day, kids learn.
When Oscar was 3, he was obsessed with Titanic — the actual nautical tragedy, not the movie. He would ask strangers on the streets if they’d heard of what had happened.
My son has trouble focusing, but we get it done — even with his sister throwing a tantrum and blaring Peppa Pig in the background. Homeschooling allows me to adapt my teaching style to suit his learning style and help him focus on what interests them most.
Oscar loves nonfiction books about the Titanic, boats, fish, oceans, ponds, and rivers — particularly the Hudson River. He has just begun learning to read. He was able to sound out his first word this week. “cat.”
I feel angry and sad, frustrated, tired, exhausted, disillusioned, and abandoned. I’m proud of all the hard work that we do.
Yes, the whole world is garbage. This pandemic feels as if it’ll never stop. I feel as dead inside as you. My children do their best to comfort my broken, cold heart. That’s why I am going to try to put my focus on it for now so that I can continue living our isolated lives.