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Lockdown Day 52  – Back to School?

Parent Post

Whilst the last week has brought some clarity to our shopping allowances, it is clear that there is still a lot of uncertainty as to the way forward as far as our children’s education goes.

Teachers are doing their best to provide meaningful content and engagement to their students on online platforms. Parents are trying to juggle working from home and helping their children with their schoolwork. This compounded with the ever-filling laundry basket and never-ending meals and corresponding dishes, can easily give us the sense of feeling as if we are pitted against a clock that has no definition.

This week we would like to remind you, as parents, that you need to remember your own health and personal well-being in the midst of all that is going on. We are not self-help gurus, and there are enough feel-good memes and poetry circulating to motivate us from time to time.

Today’s post encourages you to remember that the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and that all aspects of our being deserve attention from time to time.

PHYSICAL WELL-BEING

Are you:

  • Getting enough sleep?
  • Drinking enough water?
  • Finding time to exercise? (Between 06:00 and 09:00!)

EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

Are you:

  • Identifying stress triggers and managing them?
  • Considering your happiness?
  • Being able to be kind and show compassion to yourself?

SOCIAL WELL-BEING

Are you:

  • Missing your connection to friends and family, but making an effort to reach out via Zoom or Skype?
  • Restricting your time on social media and limiting your news-views each day?
  • Making time to socialise with the people in your house? (Without technology!)

PERSONAL WELL-BEING

Are you:

  • Using this time to think about your life goals?
  • Spending time on things you enjoy – hobbies, talents etc.?
  • Reflecting on your personal financial health?

Many of these suggestions require courage and determination to acknowledge. Be kind to yourselves and know that your vulnerability as a parent is what makes you human, and that the life lessons you learn together as a family with your children during this time are invaluable.

Let’s make the most of this time, at the end of which we hope to hear that we at least have some of our freedoms restored.

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‘If you want something to be removed,
You must first allow it to flourish,
If you want to possess something,
You must first give it away.
This is called the subtle understanding
Of how things are meant to be.
-Tao Te Ching-

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