Parenting Lessons From 2020

Thank you, next?

With the promise of a brighter 2021 on the horizon, so many parents (including myself) are looking forward to the new year and giving 2020 the middle finger it deserves. But does it really? Have we not learned a lot about parenting— and ourselves— because of 2020? Let’s take a look at the parenting lessons we’ve learned in 2020, shall we?

We learned a lot about how our kids are doing at school

In 2020, our kids had their very first Zoom meetings. We had to explain that going to school — or outdoors for that matter, was no longer safe. And while they were dealing with that, we had to do our own Zoom meetings and appear like we weren’t losing our sh*t. But having our kids at home and taking their education into our own hands took our appreciation for teachers to a whole new level. Not to mention ACTUALLY knowing what they’re learning — and what they’re not — pretty useful stuff, we think. And quite the eye opener.

We learned that kids don’t need much

Remember those days where we thought that we had to fill our kids’ calendars with a million activities? With the pandemic, we realized that it was OK to let them get bored — a parenting lesson we would have otherwise ignored had it not been 2020. We also hung out with our kids more — we read more books, we played board games, rode bikes, pitched blanket forts, went for walks and kicked a football in the park and they’ve been loving it. Who needs a shopping mall when you’ve got Mom and Dad?

We learned to be less hard on ourselves

There were a lot of firsts this year — first time for our kids to wear face masks, stay at home during Christmas, cutting our own hair, celebrate birthdays in quarantine — and through these firsts, we learned that it was completely OK to wing it. Not having an absolute answer to anything — it’s a horrifying thought for some parents, but this pandemic has taught us that we’re all still trying to get through this scary time the best way we can and we’re all just doing it the best way we know how.

We learned what’s really important

This year was a big reality check. We realized that life is fleeting; we needed to make the most of it. What better way to do it than spend more time with loved ones? And yes, being stuck in one place together definitely makes it easier. This togetherness has also been our source of strength, inspiring us to deal, cope and overcome even when it gets overwhelming.

We’ve come this far, and with the vaccine on its way, things are looking up. Although we’re hopeful that things will go back to normal someday, we’re proud of the resilience we’ve gained from the crazy year that was 2020. We’re so ready for you, 2021. Bring it!

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