Stay calm when you have a kid(s) as your alarm

How do working parents cope with the increased demands of trying to entertain and educate their children while also holding down jobs? Some drink red bull, some take anti- anxiety pills, come cry behind closed doors while some strain their relationship with their partners.

For more than a month,families have been working from home due to the spread of COVID-19. The situation feels impossible for two-parent homes where both partners can work from home and gets exponentially harder for single parents, kids with special needs, families experiencing homelessness, and parents who have to work outside of the home. Add financial worries, lack of proper technology for online distance learning, and logistical challenges like grocery shopping and managing outside time while social distancing, and it can feel downright paralyzing. 

While for children who are still kids, it is somewhat the best time ,as they get to spend time with their parents while for the teens, it ends up to be a nightmare spending time within the boundaries of their home with people they least want to be. For parents it means completely rebooting their reality. So it is important to be REAL that is make realistic goals.Accept interruptions, mood swings,less productive days, energy levels dropping, your mind about to blow up, helplessness, anger, frustration and not knowing what to do. But that’s OK. It's important to remember that parents around the world are feeling the same. Just think of your kids as tiny colleagues, who are needier than your office colleagues.

To remain productive in a pandemic situation, many are trying to establish new rules to help with the transition and figure out how to remain productive in a comprehensively changed ‘office’. The key lies in good planning, creativity and flexibility. 

Communicate

With a house full of kids and working parents, it’s important to be realistic about your working situation and the willpower it will take to succeed – and that means taking time to explain as well as accept what’s happening. 

Be flexible-adapting takes time

Some will be adapting to working from home for the first time, with the stresses and tech woes that might bring. Many will be navigating their first attempt at home-schooling as well as monitoring headlines for the latest developments, worrying about relatives and figuring out the best way to keep the kitchen cupboards stocked.So it is important to be have routine in place but be flexible with it.Plans do fail, keeping up with a fixed routine might get difficult, at times one should just go with the flow.

Bond with your kid

You are not going to get this time back, so it's best use this time as an opportunity to bond with your kid.Figuring out how to make the best of the situation, rather than dwelling on its challenges, might also make you more productive.