Momma, I know you love your child. I know you want to do what is best for them. The decision of should I homeschool or send my child to school is an impossible choice. The schools are basically asking parents to choose between two really terrible options.
I think most parents want their kiddos out of the house and back at school. I imagine that most students also want to be back in a building surrounded by their friends and peers, excited to socialize and run and play on the playground once again. Wouldn’t we all like to go somewhere? I know I would like to leave my house and have brunch or happy hour with my girlfriends again!
working parents
For most parents, school is daycare. For working parents, it’s how we can leave our home every day. It’s how we make a living and put a roof over our child’s head without paying a fortune in childcare. Without school, parents have found themselves scrambling to try and find a routine that allows for work and homeschool, while also acting as the family housekeeper, three meal a day chef, nurse, and babysitter. The ask is an impossible one. As parents, we don’t have the capacity to do all of these jobs while also working from home. As mothers, we don’t have the mental capacity to do all of these jobs and feel like we’re killing it in the “good mom” department or the “good employee” department.
No wonder we are feeling overwhelmed
No wonder we are all feeling so overwhelmed, burned out, and feeling tired all the time. And this is only a partial list of what we take on as mothers! I haven’t even started on the emotional and mental heavy lifting we do every minute of every day.
Stay at home parents
And for stay at home parents, school is a reprieve. Sending kids to school is how we complete the growing list of daily obligations. It is the time during the day that allows parents to clean the house, run errands, plan meals, do laundry, volunteer, and work on our own personal hustle. If kids are not in school, it becomes an almost impossible list of obligations to complete. Because every momma knows being a mom means more than just being in the building. Being a momma means being present for our kiddos. That is a hard ask when you are home 24/7 with no breaks or end in sight.
Should we send our kids to school
And none of this takes into account the health risk that COVID-19 has created for our babies. There are so many unknowns as it concerns schools and our kiddos it feels like an impossible decision with endless questions.
How will schools social distance?
How will schools get our little to where their masks all day?
How will music and band work with masks on?
Will our littles still get to go to recess?
How will recess work when they have to stay six feet apart?
What about riding the bus and switching class periods in the hallways?
How will my child stay safe when masks can’t be worn to eat and drink during lunchtime?
There are so many unknowns.
It feels like I have nothing but questions and am no closer to an answer.
Should I homeschool my child?
And what about homeschool?
Should I home school my child? Is that the better option? Healthwise it feels like homeschool is the way to go. But is it? It may feel safer physically, but what about socially and emotionally? I know my children are struggling. And how can parents effectively homeschool if we are working fulltime from home at the same time we are “teaching”? How do I successfully teach my child his school work when I am not a qualified teacher? How do I keep my kids occupied during my work calls for the next 9 months?
The questions are never-ending
I must have asked every mother I know what they have decided. Are you homeschooling? Are you sending your kiddo back to a school building? Do you think it’s safe? How did you make the decision? Can you tell me how to decide?
Every momma I know has asked me the same questions.
And there is no right answer. There is only the best choice for your family right now.
All we can do is weigh the options and decide which is the least crappy option for our family right now.
A pediatrician and fellow working mom Dr. Hope Seidel, went viral last week for her video about whether or not parents should send their kiddos back to school. Dr. Seidel said parents are constantly asking her one question. Should I homeschool or send my child to school? Do you know what her answer was?
Yes and Yes
She said yes. Dr. Seidel said whatever you choose is the right answer. Whatever decision you make for your family is the correct decision. There is no wrong or right answer. And I have to agree with her. We don’t know what the future will hold. We can only guess what is going to work for our family at this time. So just do whatever you think will work best for you and your kiddos based on what we know now.
We are in a global pandemic
There is no perfect answer, we are in an unprecedented global pandemic. So whatever you decided for your children at this time is the best decision. It is the right decision. We are not in normal times and we cannot make the decision the way we would normally make a decision. We are choosing between the least of two crappy options. So we have to acknowledge the crap and keep going the best we can.
Whatever you choose will be right. Whatever you choose is right.
Stop marinating in fear. Know your decision is made in love and with your child and family’s best interest at heart and pull the trigger.
You are a good mom and you are making the right decision either way.
Leave a Reply