Taking Time for Yourself and Connecting with Others

As we wrap up with our first full week of remote learning, two concerns we’ve been hearing in the guidance department the most are, “I’m feeling overwhelmed” and “I miss connecting with others.” 

We want to remind everyone that during this time, what students, parents, and teachers alike will remember the most is how they felt. We all have the pressure of feeling like we’re not doing enough and that we should be doing more. We are here to remind everyone that you are doing enough. It’s not going to be perfect and it doesn’t have to be. Your child may not learn all the skills they would if they were in school and that’s ok because everyone is in the same situation. Yes, there will be some gaps in learning and you have every right to feel that your child will regress but we are all weathering the same storm and it’s important to weather it together. Because through all of this, we are all developing a whole new set of coping skills. We are all learning that the impossible is possible. Our children are seeing what it takes to get through a challenging time and they are learning skills they might not get in school.

Don’t worry about them regressing in school. When they are back in the classroom, the teachers will know what to do to meet them where they are. Teachers are trained to do just that. Don’t pick fights with your children if they don’t adhere to the schedule and don’t mandate hours of learning if they are resisting. At the end of all of this, your mental health and your child’s mental health will be  more important than their academic skills. Trust us, the memory of how you and your children felt during this time will last far longer than the academics they are learning. 

So if you have been feeling stressed about making sure your child needs to get every aspect of the curriculum, breathe and let it go. That’s not what’s important. What’s important is taking time to take care of ourselves and the others around us. This is challenging for everyone and the best thing we can do is to stay healthy mentally. So if you can’t get to every assignment, it’s ok. If you need to spend extra time being outside to relieve the stress you are feeling, do it. If you need to take a break and take care of yourself, do that. Listen to yourself, you know what you need to stay mentally well. So in case you need permission to take time for yourself, here it is: Take time for yourself and pick up the phone and connect with those around you who need the same advice.