Covid-19 side-effects include the management of your child’s education content.
State by state and country by country effects look different. Kids around the world missed a full year of in-person education due to quarantines and shut down.
Parents are dealing with distance learning content, homeschool and in-person policy changes.
Some kids switched entirely to homeschool, with the US Census reporting almost a 200% increase in families that chose homeschool for the 2020-2021 school year! Homeschooling is entirely parent managed! Many kids have distance learning programs implemented through their school. They rely heavily on parent management! And even children with only brief shutdowns of school have to grapple with changed policies and procedures affecting how content is delivered and explored. New kinds of assignments and delivery methods reduce touch points. Parents are managing new essentials for attending class like hand sanitizer and extra face masks. And you parents manage your kid’s disappointment at not being able to sit next to friends at tables anymore.
Education looks so different from what it did at the start of 2019! Parents are experiencing education-specific Covid-19 side-effects.
You have to make health decisions for a population where the data doesn’t clearly show the risks.
To vaccinate? To not vaccinate? Sports teams? We don’t know all the risks for young children, versus the risks for older children. Data is growing. But the picture is unclear because it is getting more complicated as the strains of Covid-19 adapt. Trends are different around the globe. Face-masks are criticized as problematic in speech development for young children. But isolation is linked with psychological consequences, especially relevant for children’s social-emotional learning and development. So is it better to keep your kids home where they don’t have to wear a mask? Better to send them to a social environment with face mask policies? That’s one of many points of contention parents have to consider. And your choices affect your children, people too young to decide for themselves.
Beyond Covid Masterclass can help you consider your options.
We don’t have the answers to these deeply personal questions. Each family has to consider the information in their area and weigh the risks as best they can. If you want more information about reflecting on your family’s school situation so you can make the best choice for your kid consider our Beyond Covid Masterclass.
This is a time of added stress. Parents have possibly life-altering choices to make. This stress is one of the extra Covid-19 side-effects for parents.
Family routines have changed.
We’ve looked a little at some hard and stressful Covid-19 side-effects. Lets consider some positive things!
Grocery pick-up is available everywhere within 24 hours, sometimes as quickly as 2 hours! Grocery delivery is widespread as well! That’s a time consuming chore that has been taken off our plates as parents – for free in many places! This summer I am loving staying in my air conditioned car while grocery employees deliver my selections to my trunk.
My family spent so much time outside this past year! Our only vacations were camping, and we did almost daily hikes. Reconnecting with nature has been a positive side-effect for us.
We have become more aware of our health and our bodies, my kids know more about how viruses and bacteria operate. They independently wash their hands at appropriate times! That’s some positive growth for us.
What has changed in your family routine? I know there are many hard things, but do you have some silver linings to the clouds?