Insights during Lockdown
From one single parent to another, let’s look at simple, effective and achievable ways of keeping calm and staying sane during a worldwide pandemic!
My kids can talk for Britain!
Who knew children do not stop talking? From the moment they open their eyes to the time they go to bed, my boys don’t stop! What’s more, they both like to do it at the same time, perfectly synchronized, tag teaming me with verbal diarrhoea.
We've introduced a ‘One Chat at a Time’ rule; one will talk, the other will start, I stop them firmly and repeat “One chat at a time!” So far, it stops them pretty quickly. Firm, consistent and to the point. We seem to repetitively have the same conversations, bit by bit, if both my boys talk at the same time. Nobody felt heard and so the excessive need to speak was creating a stressful atmosphere for all of us. This so far seems to help us feel and be heard.
I Need to Speak to Another Adult
By week 2 of isolation I began to feel the loneliest I ever have as a single parent. Having a conversation that wasn’t about Paw Patrol, counting numbers or, you’ve guessed it, Peppa Pig was ALL I wanted.
Instead I began writing things down. Things that crossed my mind or I wanted to tell someone. I wrote it down and got it out. I didn’t keep thinking it over again, growing irritated by the fact I had no one to talk about it to. Being cut away from the adult world has been a huge struggle, but once I started making a note of things that bothered me during the day or something the kids had done, I felt like I’d had a form of release and gotten things off my chest. Even if I take a minute just to jot something down that’s annoying me, once I’ve written it down, I’ve got it out of my system.
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Is it Acceptable to Drink Wine with Lunch During Lockdown?
Being a single parent, isolated with one or more children is pure chaos for all of us. We’re not alone in this, we are all fazed to some extent, so it is essential to find time for ourselves and do something we enjoy. This could be painting our nails, putting a film on for the children whilst we read a book or even sitting on the loo for an extra 5 minutes!
We are in sole charge of our children, their safety, their homeschooling, their wellbeing so at the end of the day once our parenting duties are done, the children are in bed, now is the better time to crack open that bottle!
Contributed by SingleParent Sarah, mum to 2 boys
Thanks Sarah