Hillsborough County schools just announced that when school starts up again for the 2020-2021 school year, at least the first four weeks will be virtual only. For many parents, this news just adds to the list of stressors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With that in mind, I thought it might be helpful to share some tips for managing the stress of virtual schooling.
First, and foremost, understand you aren’t expected to do it all. The simple fact is for non-essential workers, our kids have been home with us since March. Virtual schooling was hard then, and it will be hard for these four weeks. Help your kids as much as you can with their schoolwork, but don’t feel like you have to make it your main focus.
Get help where you can. If you have a spouse, partner, family member, or even a friend that can help you with your children, take advantage of that help. Perhaps you can all work together to create a schedule to take turns watching the kids, and/or helping with the schoolwork. Now more than ever, we have to come together and help one another.
Ask your employer to allow you to continue working from home. Some people are being called back to their offices, but with children schooling from home, it may be necessary to ask for remote work for another month. Seek out resources like the Office of Child Care for childcare if you are unable to work from home.
Maintain a healthy diet and sleep schedule. As hard as this may be, it’s even more critical that we eat right, get enough sleep, and take care of ourselves. Not getting enough sleep, and letting our diets slip can add more stress than you may realize to an already stressful situation. By the way, exercise is great for stress relief.
Understand that grades may slip. Right now, it’s important to focus on staying healthy, and doing the best we can with our situation. Focusing and lesson comprehension may be difficult for our kids, and that’s okay. While we shouldn’t let our children completely abandon their studies, we also shouldn’t expect them to be the star students they may be under normal circumstances.
Keep calm and carry on. Though that might seem a little cliche, we just have to do the best we can, and keep moving forward. Take everything one day at a time. Try and maintain a routine, stay organized, and manage your time wisely. That’s really all you can do.
Remember, we’re all dealing with the fact our world has been turned upside down by the coronavirus. You’re not alone. We will get through this, and come out stronger on the other side.
Hammond Psychology and Associates is the go-to resource for residents seeking psychological evaluations from a licensed psychologist in the Tampa Bay area. Click here to learn more about our Psychological Testing services in our Brandon location.