Parenting Through Coronavirus

Mar 17, 2020

Surprise! We are all now homeschoolers overnight, thanks to Coronavirus. But don't worry; just check out that rainbow-colored family schedule that keeps popping into your newsfeed. Now you're all set to run a Pinterest-perfect Romper Room in your home, right? Problem Solved!

If you started with the best intentions, then wound up arguing over remote school work and devolving into a 5 hour screen time marathon, you're not alone. Unfortunately, that beautiful schedule didn't come with a whole lot of info on how to actually execute it, besides a few memes about wine-o-clock, but that only gets you so far.

It's a lot of positive vibes without much "how-to" behind it, which is a perfect setup to feel terrible when it all goes to hell on the first day (on top of mounting anxiety as the supply of toilet paper, bottled water, and sanity all seem to be dwindling).

There are lots of reasons moms are on the brink of freaking out right now - the health risks, crazy grocery store behavior, and financial implications are very real. But, in talking to my clients and the moms in my facebook group, I believe the deeper source of our worry is the changing, unpredictable landscape around us.

We don't know what tomorrow will bring, and we don't have a plan. It's like summer break except with nowhere to go and a bunch of scary crap everywhere you look!!! Mommies don't like this one bit!

Well, I might not be able to find toilet paper for you and I'm no expert on public health, but THIS I can help with! Coronavirus is here and it's time for moms to rise to the occasion, just like we always do. But, a schedule is only a piece of the puzzle, because it's just a pretty pipe dream without 2 other elements:

1) A calm and present parent who can keep her family on track because she has,

2) Effective discipline skills that she can whip out when things start to get nuts.

In other words, we need support in 3 areas:

Mindset (Are you so anxious that a fight over screentime will snap you like a twig?),
Momming (Do you have skills for effectively responding to misbehavior?)
Management (A realistic plan including support and relief for yourself).

Some things never change, right? I teach in these three areas every single day, and they feel more important now than ever. We all find ourselves white-knuckling it through some of the intense moments of motherhood because we know the reprieve of school, daycare, babysitters, etc. is just around the corner to give us a much-needed break. It's scary now to realize, that break isn't coming and the buck stops with us.

The good news is that you can definitely do this, and you don't have to figure it out by yourself. I am doing a training in the Real Life Momming Facebook group on Thursday on Parenting Through Coronavirus where I will help you get on top of this new normal. You'll walk away with:

A realistic plan for your family that maximizes cooperation,
A positive and calm perspective about the path ahead
Tools to effectively enforce your plan and keep your family on track without fighting, anger, power struggles, or bargaining

I'm send you and your family tons of love and light these days. And if you're ready for some extra support and skills, I hope you'll tune in on Thursday. See you soon!