Parents Unite!
Last Saturday, on May 2nd, I hosted the 1st ever VIRTUAL: Parent Talk Social meetup with 9 Local Guides, including a special Local Guide guest, using Google Hangouts. We had a lively, fast-paced discussion.
The Local Guides that participated came from five continents:
- North America – U.S.A. (@kwiksatik, @LeyleyS, @PaulKang, @JordanSB)
- South America – Bolivia (@Gabuu)
- Europe – Italy (@LuigiZ), Spain (@AlejandraMaria)
- Africa – Ghana (@kafuiday)
- Asia – Sri Lanka (@KrithikaA and guest @IlankovanT)
It turned out that this scheduled 1-hour virtual meetup was not long enough to fully cover our discussion of how our kids and us, as parents, are dealing with these uncertain times.
We ended up talking about our individual COVID-19 life family experiences for over 90 minutes! Although individually, we are from different parts of the world, we, as a group, are experiencing more similar things than not.
There was a lot of laughing, mental & emotional support, parenting tips, and toy/book recommendations that we exchanged between the 10 of us.
In this meetup, we, as parents, have kids that are toddler age to 12 years old.
We have a lot in common!
- Homeschooling and how to effectively teach our children ourselves was a hot topic.
- Remote or online learning. How to be sure your children are keeping up. What if you, as a parent, do not like your child’s teacher’s online curriculum? Is it too much? Not enough? Non-existent? Not appropriate? Or your kid hates it and doesn’t want to do it?
- Schedule our children’s days was highly recommended by many of us to bring stability and sanity within our families. We all need to have some daily structure in our lives so that the days do not blur together, and no one can get anything completed or accomplished.
- Our children need to respecting our work boundaries. For example, as we try to look and sound professional during work video calls, our children somehow like to wander in and appear next to us as we are talking. Or our child(ren) not being quiet when we are on the phone or a video call. It gets even crazier when both parents work from home and children of different ages at home together.
- Being together 24/7 in our houses is stressful. There is no “down-time” for parents or “me time” as an individual.
- It is a must to have the space to separate if needed. Some of us are fortunate to have gardens (safe outdoor space) and space in our homes (rooms) so that everyone in the house can have their “space” away from other family members if needed.
- Our standard support systems are not there. Some of us do not have our parents (grandparents, relatives) to help take care of or see our child(ren), which makes our kids even more dependent or more attached to us.
- Concern regarding the mental well-being of our children. What will they remember during this time? Will there be permanent mental or emotional scarring?
- Our children are growing up fast, especially if they are with their older siblings all day. They are learning things much more quickly because of this.
- Our children, not having their scheduled after school or weekend activities (no dance, music, sports, etc.) anymore because of the pandemic, what is a parent or the child(ren) to do now?
Parenting Tips–What is working for us now.
- Use video calls (Zoom, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Facetime) to have our child(ren) talk to their friends or outside family members, especially if you have only one child in the house.
- Set up a schedule for your child(ren). It does not have to be highly structured, but it must have routines. For example, when to get up, when to go to bed.
- Reduce internet usage or electronic devices. Get your child(ren) to play, go outside.
- Shelter your child(ren) from constant coronavirus news. Screen what they see online or on TV. Talk about what is going on. Why are we staying at home? Why are they not going to school?
- Keep talking and listening to your child(ren). Ask how they are doing. How are they feeling? Look for signs.
- Be sure to schedule “me time” for you and your spouse separately and away from your child(ren). Planning this will help you and your spouse’s sanity. It does not have to be extensive, but it needs to be regularly. Having “me time” will reduce both you and your spouse’s screaming and stress levels.
Our Children’s Favorite Toys/Books Recommendations
To cap off our exciting parenting discussion, we had fun, at times, hilarious moments, sharing what each of our children’s favorite toys/books:
My children LOVE their stuffed animals (like Mr. Alligator), Lakeshore Learning Alphabet Machine (Identify the letters of the alphabet with corresponding objects), and trucks (like this green Tonka Green front loader). These three toys give them many hours of playtime.
Luigi’s children LOVE Barbies (one blue IKEA bag full), Frozen (Elsa and Anna), ponies, unicorns, etc.
Jordan’s boys LOVE all things LEGO & Star Wars. They obsess over poop and love this book: Everybody Poops. It’s a great book to help your child understand what poop is and to encourage him or her to potty train.
Krithika’s daughter loves to paint, color, draw, and play with Play-Doh. She loves to pretend-play and play with her stuffed animals and her dolls.
Paul’s children LOVE their Little Tikes Inflatable Jump 'n Slide Bounce House. He has theirs set up inside their house to jump and have them burn as much energy as possible!
Leyley’s children’s favorite books are Goodnight Moon, Counting Colors, and My First Bible. They also love the South African drum and will start dancing as soon as they hear the beat of the drum.
Gabu’s children LOVE the Nickelodeon show PAW Patrol, so anything "PAW Patrol” gets very excited over. They also love reading about dinosaurs.
Kafui’s children LOVE LEGO. Their LEGO pieces can be found throughout her house. Her son has a LEGO book to show him how to build objects.
Megan’s children LOVE video games! Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Wii are just a few of them.
Alejandra’s children LOVE to write in their diaries, draw, and read books.
Cheers,
Karen
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Next Virtual: Parent Talk Social Meetup
If you are interested in attending, please comment below. I am happy to host again 9 Local Guides who want to share and talk about their COVID-19 life parenting experiences.
My Next Virtual Meetup is this Saturday, May 9th
“Show & Tell” Coffee Lovers Social. Sorry, this meetup is already full. There is a growing Wait List. I am happy to host a future virtual meetup. Please comment and tag me in the Coffee Lovers Social link.
What are Show & Tell Virtual Meetups?
My meetups are small in size because I use the free version of Google Hangouts, which has a maximum of up to 10 participants, including me, as the host. The purpose of my Saturday 1-hour virtual meetups is for the Local Guide, who wants to interact fully, Show & Tell their favorite things, with up to 9 other Local Guides.
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