Keeping a Schedule: The most challenging part of parenting during the pandemic

by Nicole Jones

Parenting under the best of circumstances can often be stressful. And with the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual learning added to the mix, parenting becomes even more taxing. For me, this has also meant experiencing a new range of stressors that threatened my family’s health and economic well-being. When the pandemic started last winter, it was extremely stressful. I received news of school closings, so I had to travel to Louisiana to get my oldest son from college. We didn’t know much about the virus–nobody did. As our community and the nation began following the pandemic’s health protocols, we started wearing masks to protect us and others from the virus. On top of all of that, I was transitioning to a new job and my children were beginning to experience the world of virtual learning. 

Virtual learning has been stressful because the children have to learn how to navigate through the many digital learning platforms while familiarizing themselves with a new curriculum at a new school. As is the case with tens of thousands of children, this is my youngest son’s first time experiencing virtual learning, other than the little he did during the spring when the pandemic started. We’re still in the process of adjusting to online learning but it’s gotten a little bit better over time.

My youngest son has been with Operation Shoestring since he was in the fourth grade. He is now a 6th grader. The staff at Operation Shoestring have been extremely helpful to my family during the pandemic. They make calls to inquire about our needs, and they provide my son [and our family] with the necessary supplies for his virtual learning experience. Shoestring has been a huge support to us during this really tough time.

I talk with my children daily about how they’re feeling about issues the world is experiencing with COVID-19. This has been a challenging time because we’re so limited to what we can do for recreational purposes. My youngest son has asthma, so talking to him about social distancing was very important to protect his safety. To keep some normalcy in their lives, we’ve done a whole host of activities that are fun and engaging, but also keep us all safe. We visit friends but stay in our cars when talking to them. We have movie nights and game nights. We go get dinner and then drive out to the Reservoir just to sit in our car and look at the water. We ride our bikes and take morning walks. And, importantly, we talk. Just talking to your kids and creating a sense of normalcy in their lives is so important.

During the pandemic, my advice to parents would be to keep the children on a schedule, set goals, get creative educational lessons, and spend time with them as much as possible while being sure to find some time to take care of yourself. As parents, we have many roles to fulfill, so self-care is most important as well. We have to learn how to maintain a sense of balance to keep our stress levels under control to make each day of our lives a little easier for the family and ourselves. 

As is likely the case for every parent, parenting and figuring out how to manage work and home life while trying to keep my family’s health was really difficult at the beginning because nobody seemed to know what to expect. Now, nearly eight months in, the challenge has changed because we know more about what to expect and how to keep ourselves safe. But it’s all still hard. The one positive to come out of this pandemic, though, for which I give thanks, has been spending more time with my family.

Nicole Jones is a native of Jackson, a graduate of Jackson State University, and a mother of two. To hear more from Nicole Jones, watch Operation Shoestring’s Conversation about Community: Parenting in the Pandemic event that aired Tuesday, October 27, at 12:00pm. Watch on Operation Shoestring’s Facebook.