Weekly Reads: A Bouncer, a Referee and Your Kids?

It feels impossible and overwhelming to care for kids while managing the expectations of a full-time job. And yet, this is the reality: home-schooling while Zooming, conference calls squeezed in during naptime, emails written during yet another screening of “Frozen 2,” everything else finished post-dinner, post-bedtime, post-cleanup.

Howdy Readers! I hope everyone is still hanging in there in the face of this global crisis. We Grounded Parents are going to go the extra mile to keep you informed and entertained until we’re all allowed outside again (is that far away enough?)

From the New York Times…

What do a bar bouncer, kindergarten teacher, hockey referee, marriage and family therapist, and police officer all have in common? They know how to break up a fight.

What to do when your kids just won’t stop fighting? Emily Sullivan, mother of five year old twins, decided to go to some surprising experts for advice. 

It feels impossible and overwhelming to care for kids while managing the expectations of a full-time job. And yet, this is the reality: home-schooling while Zooming, conference calls squeezed in during naptime, emails written during yet another screening of “Frozen 2,” everything else finished post-dinner, post-bedtime, post-cleanup.

Leah Chernikoff helps out first time “work from home” parents with a list of 8 Ways to Set Boundaries Between Work and Kids.

“We’re seeing situations where entire families are sickened with Covid-19, because it’s so contagious when you have prolonged close contact,” said Dr. Thomas Murray, M.D., Ph.D., associate medical director for infection prevention at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. While most parents will only show mild to moderate symptoms, he added, the reality is some will require hospitalization, and “it’s impossible to predict who,” he said.

This reality is a particularly disturbing one for single parents, who not only have to shoulder the sole responsibility of their child’s care, but who also have to worry what will happen to their kids if they end up in the hospital. “When I got sick, it was my worst nightmare,” said Lesley Enston, 39, a single mother who lives in Brooklyn. Enston developed Covid-like symptoms in mid-March, including a loss of taste and smell, fatigue and mild shortness of breath. At first, she considered sending her daughter, age 1, to her father’s house, but eventually she was reluctant to do so since her dad has pre-existing heart and lung conditions. One night in late March, she struggled to breathe. “I panicked, not knowing who would be able to take Desslyn if I required an ambulance,” she said.

Hallie Levine looks into the dilemma of arranging childcare when one or both parents contract the coronavirus.  

From the Washington Post…

Just as people have been panic-buying more toilet paper, bread and meat than they need, infant formula has been flying off retailers’ shelves since the novel coronavirus began spreading around the world earlier this year. Now, it seems, anxiety about limited shelf supply of infant formula has sparked an increased interest in re-lactation — when a birth parent resumes production of breast milk after stopping.

Toilet paper isn’t the only thing we’re running short of. Lack of baby formula is forcing parents into tough decisions.

There would not be Barbies in my home.

These words, spoken both before I had children and in the early years of my two daughters’ lives, rarely went challenged by the women around me. We all shared this sentiment, believing, without really diving into why, that Barbies were a direct affront to the type of feminism we wanted to pass on to our children.

Never mind that I had grown up with Barbies, entire plastic containers of Barbies and all of their accessories, or that I played with them probably for far longer than many of my peers. This was a new generation. Not to mention that the thought of those tiny stilettos and purses and tiaras — and now even teeny spiders (see: Entomologist Barbie) — scattered throughout my house made my Type A skin crawl.

Theresa Blackinton has an apology of sorts to make to one iconic toy.

Finally, from Slate Parenting…

Dear Care and Feeding,

All my life I have raised my child Christian, and now as she moves on to college and has a boyfriend, I’ve got it out of her that they are atheists. It devastates me, but I also know it is up to her to get her salvation.

The above statements are what I know my parents feel. I am the atheist child.

What do I do to help my parents feel less crushed? I know they only want me to accept God again, but I just don’t believe. I understand their faith, I just don’t want them to continue to feel hurt by seeing me.

Nicole Cliff answers this question with grace and humility. I know that a lot of us Grounded Parents have gone through similar issues with our own parents, it can be a really hard conversation.

That’s it for this week. Have any of you found some parenting news out there in the World Wide Web you think your fellow Grounded Parents need to see? Drop a link in the comments.

Stay safe and healthy everyone, see you next week!

Featured Image Credit, Lou Doench, Blotz Photo Arts.