Due to COVID-19, many working parents and guardians with ‘non-essential jobs’, were mandated to work from home under the “stay at home” guidelines. At the same time, children were no longer attending school in the traditional classroom. Everyone, including stay at home parents with school aged children were faced with this new norm. This new norm meant that in addition to dealing with the emotional and financial challenges that the pandemic brought, parents were now juggling the responsibilities of work, home, 24/7 needs of their children, and deeper involvement in their education.

Parents are doing their best and making the most of their newfound time with their children but a day in the life of a quarantined parent has its challenges.

Top of the list, parents are becoming assistant teachers in a much more involved way than they have before. Helping them get online, giving instructions and assistance on work that is too difficult for them or their knowledge of the topic is outdated, and depending on the age being very hands on, all day. That’s if you have access to the technology or transportation that many of us take for granted to even make teaching at home a possibility. Once they’ve soothed the intellectual wellbeing of their children, it’s time to shift focus to make sure they’re emotionally and physically secure, also a challenge that the pandemic brought.

A close second is making sure the household stays connected by identifying creative ways to stay engaged with coworkers, friends, and family members. Again, technology and transportation are important. Personally, I’ve been involved with or have witnessed my parents organizing car parade celebrations, Zoom trivia nights, Instagram live concert watch parties, and FaceTime paint nights.

This experience has reinforced the strength of our parents, the resiliency of our children, and the value of our teachers.