COVID Parenting Has
Passed the Point of Absurdity
This was always
unsustainable. Now it’s simply impossible.
W
hen mothers feel there is no more appealing way to spend an
evening than to yell into the frigid January darkness, something is very, very
wrong. Parents in the United States are living through a universally terrible
moment. For two years, we’ve been spending each and every day navigating an
ever-changing virus that’s threatening not only our well-being but our
livelihoods. The situation has reached a fever pitch during this wave, when
we’re expected to function normally even though nothing is normal and none of
the puzzle pieces in front of us fit together.
How do we send our kids back to school when no one can find
COVID tests and so many students and teachers are out sick? How do we keep our
kids home from school when we’re expected to be back at work? How can we be
good parents when we are also required to be employees, teachers, nurses,
playmates, chefs, therapists, and spouses? As I write this sentence, Netflix is
babysitting my daughter, who is home sick with a fever and runny nose that
might be COVID—should I feel guilty that I’m not attending to her every need,
or is guilt now a luxury parents cannot afford?
Parents were defeated long before Omicron. Now we’ve reached a
stage of the pandemic where finding the right words to describe our lot is
simply an exercise in absurdity. We are broken. We have nothing left in us but
screams of anger and pain.
Source:Reuters
This was always unsustainable. Now it’s simply impossible.
|
W |
hen mothers feel there is no more appealing way to spend an evening than to yell into the frigid January darkness, something is very, very wrong. Parents in the United States are living through a universally terrible moment. For two years, we’ve been spending each and every day navigating an ever-changing virus that’s threatening not only our well-being but our livelihoods. The situation has reached a fever pitch during this wave, when we’re expected to function normally even though nothing is normal and none of the puzzle pieces in front of us fit together.
How do we send our kids back to school when no one can find COVID tests and so many students and teachers are out sick? How do we keep our kids home from school when we’re expected to be back at work? How can we be good parents when we are also required to be employees, teachers, nurses, playmates, chefs, therapists, and spouses? As I write this sentence, Netflix is babysitting my daughter, who is home sick with a fever and runny nose that might be COVID—should I feel guilty that I’m not attending to her every need, or is guilt now a luxury parents cannot afford?
Parents were defeated long before Omicron. Now we’ve reached a stage of the pandemic where finding the right words to describe our lot is simply an exercise in absurdity. We are broken. We have nothing left in us but screams of anger and pain.
Source:Reuters
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