3 Tips for Parents in the Time of Corona and Online School

Everything is different. Many parents are home from work and kids are home from school. We have been forced into changing our daily lives whether we like it or not. Now we have a choice!!

Each one of us can choose to go to fear, upset, stress and anxiety or we can choose something different.  What if there is another possibility available beyond what is currently showing up?

Your kids are participating in online school now and you have to support them through this. You all have to learn a new way doing school. The teachers have to learn a new way of teaching students. What would it take to have ease with all of this?

Tip #1:  Let go of expectations

Online school is different than going to school in a school building with teachers, administrators, staff, and many other students. The expectations will not be the same so let go of any expectations of how you think online school should be, including the time spent on school work, the work that is being assigned, and the daily interactions of students and teachers. Everyone has been thrust into a new role and everyone is learning how to do this together. Letting go of expectations will contribute to your children, yourself, and the teachers.

Tip #2:  Be in the question

Asking questions is a great way to become clearer when you or your children are having a problem, getting frustrated, or are going through some emotional issues. The questions that I recommend are not questions to find an answer, rather they are questions to open the doors to a different and greater possibility. These questions can take you from a stuck place to a space of lightness and more awareness. They invite you to have moments that we sometimes call, lightbulb moments or aha moments. What if you never had to have the answer for your kids but instead always have a question available to open the door to change?

I invite you to use these questions anytime you’d like to change a situation that is not working. Do not look for an answer. Ask the question 1, 2, 3 or more times and go on with your day. Allow the aha moments to show up.

How does it get any better than this?
What else is possible that I haven’t yet considered?
What would it take to change this?
What information am I missing?

Tip #3: Relax

Take a deep breath. Everything is going to be ok.

This letter says it all – Author Unknown

Dear Parents,

Don’t stress about schoolwork. In September, I will get your children back on track. I am a teacher and that’s my superpower. What I can’t fix is social-emotional trauma that prevents the brain from learning. So right now, I just need you to share your calm, share your strength, and share your laughter with your children. No kids are ahead, No kids are behind. Your children are exactly what they need to be.

With love,
All the teachers on planet Earth

Photo by Eugene Chystiakov on Unsplash