In the age of COVID-19, parenting can get hectic.
For Elisa Trucco, juggling 3-year-old twins amid the pandemic keeps her on her toes.
Trucco, a working mom, often takes her son and daughter outside to expend energy. Sometimes she feels overwhelmed.
“Covid has been really intense,” she said.
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So, what can parents do to help manage day-to-day activities without feeling overwhelmed or worn out?
Moms With A Mic spoke to Dr. Sara Rivero-Conil, a psychologist at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, for some simple steps to help keep your sanity.
Step 1: Get Organized
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“The key to organization is talking with your children and your spouses and your support system. What’s going to work for us? How are we going to manage these things?” Dr. Rivero-Conil said.
Dr. Rivero-Conil’s advice when it comes to scheduling is -- don’t overdo it.
“The goal of this is to have fun as well as learn things. So if we over schedule, sometimes it kind of takes away that fun aspect and we’re always struggling and stressed out,” she said.
Step 2: Set Expectations
Talk to your family about what’s really feasible during a given week and make way for some down time.
“We should actually choose a day where we have a free day. That’s our day to catch up with school work, it’s our day to catch up with things at home. It’s a day to catch up with enjoying our children beyond karate, cheerleading, football, you know, all of these extracurricular activities,” said Dr. Rivero-Conil.
Trucco likes to visit favorite family spots with her twins whenever possible.
“We have five or six things that they Iike doing, and we rotate,” said Trucco.
Step 3: Stay Positive
“We’re all stressed. It’s easy to say ‘what are you worried about?’ Or ‘what went wrong at school today?’ So when you’re talking to your child, let’s talk about, are you excited that you have PE now? Are you excited to eat lunch outside? Let’s give them that positive energy and slowly but surely if we’re excited, that negative energy they might be feeling will turn into excitement also,” said Dr. Rivero-Conil.
When things get tough, reach out for help. You can turn to your partner, a counselor, or a trusted friend.
