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Pandemic Parenting

How to adjust to situations beyond your control

By Jayme KeallyPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Pandemic Parenting
Photo by Marisa Howenstine on Unsplash

Throughout our lives, the thought of becoming a parent goes through our minds. For girls, it tends to happen at a very early age. For guys, it may not take place until early adolescence, if at all. The older we get, and the more serious a relationship may get, the question of when you will have kids will get asked by your parents and other relatives, to the point where you might get annoyed by the constant pestering.

When you became a parent, did you ever think that you would have to go through life as a single parent? Now, did you ever feel that you would have to be a single parent during a global pandemic? Yeah, me neither. Well, this was something I was faced with at the very start of COVID-19… and it was not easy to come by, either.

In most situations, the parents who had just split are generally able to come up with a schedule so that both parents can tend to the children in a civil manner. I wish that were the case for me. A single mom, working forty plus hours during a pandemic. I go between work, taking care of my children, and making sure everything is done. The worst part about it all is that I am getting zero help from their father.

It has been quite the situation to adjust to. Stressful situations made it even more stressful. Being the person I am, it has been challenging for me to not be with my kids day in and day out. Working full-time and then some most weeks is hard on me. Luckily, I have been able to find the best babysitter I could have ever asked for. My list of whom I will allow watching my children is very slim and has grown even smaller throughout this pandemic. I REFUSE to send them to daycare because of all the stories you hear daily. If I do not trust you to watch my children, you better believe that you WILL NOT be protecting my children. It is as simple as that.

At the start of the pandemic, I was beyond stressed out. Finances were not what I had expected them to be. My hours had been cut tremendously. As time moved forward and things began to fall back into place, I began to get everything sorted out. It has not been an easy task to take on, but it has been something I will not give up on. I get no help from my children’s father. Everything I do reflects on the life I give for my children. They rely on me to provide them with any and everything they need.

In difficult situations, such as a global pandemic, you have to make do with what you are dealt with. You have to make sure you provide your children with what is best for them. I have used this trying time as a massive lesson for myself. Please do not rely on even the other parent of your children to help you out with them. If you have to rely on everyone else, nothing is going to get accomplished. You will continuously be at a standstill if you sit there waiting on everyone else to help you.

Do not allow others to dictate how you raise your children, even during situations beyond your control. If they are trying to tell you what to do, that shows that they regret the way they may have raised their own children and are trying to make up for it by telling others what they should and should not do with THEIR children.

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