What Have You Learned About Your Kids Over the Past Year?
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Whether or not your kids have returned to daycare and school, we’re guessing that they were home 24/7 for the majority of 2020. What have you learned about your kids over the past year — positive or otherwise? We thought it would make for an interesting discussion today, and we’d love to hear your thoughts!
School/Childcare: Have you decided to homeschool or unschool your kids because of things you’ve observed or realized during virtual schooling? Maybe you’ve moved your kids from public to private school? If your daycare was closed and you had to switch to a new type of childcare at some point (maybe using grandparents as caregivers), what have you learned?
Family Time: Are there any changes you’re making in your family because of the things you’ve learned about your kids over the past 14 months? Have you created any new family traditions, for example? Have you come to any realizations about your role and life as a parent, or about your relationship with your kids (or your partner) in general? Have you realized that a flexible schedule and/or working remotely is a positive thing for your family, and if it’s something that was new to you in 2020, do you hope to continue that arrangement indefinitely? (And will it actually be possible?)
Your Kids In General: Did you realize at some point, “Wow, my kid can do [impressive/surprising skill]? I never knew they could do that!” Did your children develop a strong interest during quarantine that you wouldn’t have expected — maybe because of a virtual summer camp or class they were enrolled in? Did they turn out more (or less) resilient than you would have expected in a crisis like this? Did they miss certain activities that suddenly weren’t safe to continue, or did they not miss things you expected them to? (On the flip side, did you realize that your child is maybe struggling in ways you weren’t aware of? Kat knows three different parents who pursued ADHD diagnoses/treatments after trying to do virtual schooling with them and realizing their kids had attention problems beyond just their age.)
Readers, do tell! What have you learned about your kids over the past year? Have you been able to find a silver lining in all this *waves hands around*?
This is a recent development, but I think I’m starting to see a real sense of humor in my kid. She is starting to mess with/tease me in a way that is actually really funny.
Example: at school they have the concept of a happy plate, which I hate. Last week, she said something about making a happy plate at school that day, and I went on this big diatribe about how its more important to listen to your body, and how you shouldn’t keep eating just to make a “happy plate” if you’re already full and how much I hate that whole concept.
Well, since then, now that she knows how much it bothers me, she keeps announcing at dinner that she has made a happy plate or when she gets dressed she has made a “happy outfit” or when she goes to the bathroom she has made a “happy p00p” and then looking at me with this huge “I’m messing with you and waiting for your reaction” smile on her face. It’s actually really funny in real life and is the first time we’ve had this shared sense of humor. My husband and I both mess with each other and mess with her a lot in the same way, and it’s been cool to see her dishing it out too for the first time.
In general though, I think I’ve been really surprised both by how quickly she got back to her normal self, how much she has blossomed this year since school started back in person, and my mind has been boggled by how she can (seemingly) suddenly read.