By In Trieste
These days all of us are getting used to a new kind of normal. We have all had to tweak our daily habits, try to accept the current situation and make the best of it.
But how are parents dealing with all this? We asked a few moms and dads who live in Trieste where all schools and universities have been closed since February 24th (two weeks before the rest of Italy) to answer some of our pressing questions.
How has the lockdown and the recent virus outbreak affected your daily life with kids?
Rebecca (UK): Because asilo nido is closed my almost two year old has been home, which is lovely, but it makes simple daily tasks and work more difficult.
Theresa (Spain): I spend a lot of time with my two kids because my husband still goes to work every day. I get tired psychologically and I always have to invent something new to feel good at home. For example, we play with little trains, make pasta or reposition the furniture.
Nissrine (Canada): I have way less time to do stuff because I have to entertain my daughter and feed all of us three times a day. When she goes to school I get us ready, fed and out the door in the morning. After I drop her off I come home. I work from home and when I’m alone I can get so much done. When she’s here I get around 20% done.
Charlotte (UK): School’s closed, so we don’t have any childcare, and we can’t go to the park, or do play dates. This pretty much knocks out everything we do with our kid. Now we stay at home, on the terrace and in the communal garden when possible, and try to do things here.
Guido (Italy): I have more time to spend with kids these days, which is nice.
Liria (Tanzania): Our lives are upside down like everyone else’s. We are trying to keep up a routine with schooling online. Spending more time with my youngest (12) and trying to stay out of the way of my oldest (18), who is going mad because she can’t see her boyfriend. Thank God for our garden, even though I get locked out there when my oldest gets mad at me. True story. However, we are spending more quality time together and that’s lovely…..some of the time flies.
Maria (US): I love spending time with my 2 year old. But by the end of the day I am beat and can’t really do much else. Towards the end of the day I secretly wait for my husband to stop working (he works from home these days) to take over so I could get some time all to myself.
Nura (Spain): My kid’s school is closed so we have to invent new games at home. But it’s a bit boring to stay at home all the time.
What’s the most difficult part? What’s the best part?
Theresa (Spain): Every time we go out to buy food we can’t do it with an easy heart thinking there might be someone sick outside. You have this persistent thought in your head, plus it’s hard not knowing when the situation is going to end. But the great thing about this forced slowdown is the added value to the daily life – you really start appreciating things you never have before.
Rebecca (UK): We are really missing being outdoors so much and having to find new ways to entertain an 18 month old inside gets tricky. Taking him shopping with me became difficult because now there are queues and he can’t just run around the supermarket.
Nissrine (Canada): The most difficult part is that after 3 weeks of her being home from school she’s gotten bored of most activities so it’s getting harder to be creative with her. Oh, and the best part is spending more time doing fun things with my little girl that we don’t get to do regularly during school days like baking, arts and crafts.
Charlotte (UK): The hardest part is staying home, as we all like to get out. And we also like to hang out with friends with kids (another no go). The other hardest thing is having no down time: I’m either looking after my kid or frantically working. The best thing is getting to spend more time together and play games as a family.
Liria (Tanzania): Best part is spending more quality time together, a super clean house and a very happy dog who can’t believe we are always together and gets taken out not only by me but by eldest, too. Worse part: seeing my kids miss their friends and social life and knowing it will be a long while before we go back to how it used to be. Being a single mum, I really miss grown up human contact and chats, a lot!
Guido (Italy): My kids spend too much time on the Internet to stay connected with their friends. It’s not the best, but it keeps them occupied.
Maria (US): Not being able to go outside is the worst part, but thankfully we have a nice terrace where we do jumping jacks every morning. The best part is reconnecting with my kid who I otherwise see in the evenings after I pick her up from daycare.
Nura (Spain): The most difficult part is staying indoors all day long. The best part is being with family all the time.
If you work from home, has it been manageable?
Theresa (Spain): I don’t work from home. But having two kids under four at home is a full-time job.
Rebecca (UK): I have been working once he goes to bed which means some nights I am working till very late. But now that our dad has been sent home from work it is a lot more manageable. We get to share all of the responsibilities.
Liria (Tanzania): It’s manageable. I always work from home but right now being in the relocation business, its 0 work as no one is relocating. My other business goes on with my wonderful team in Milan.
Charlotte (UK): I work from home anyway, but normally our kid’s at school. It’s hard as both of us are working from home now, but we have no childcare. It’s tough as with a young child, you have to be present most of the time. We’re tag-teaming the parenting & working and both reducing our hours.
Nissrine (Canada): I always work from home and it’s way less manageable now… But oh well, that’s the reality for now and we’ll deal with it.
Maria (US): I have to upload audio lessons and I usually wait until my husband stops working around 7 pm to do that. Most of the evenings I am too tired to do that though, so I always look forward to the weekend when my husband takes care of our girl while I work.
Guido (Italy): Yes, somehow yes. My kids are teenagers though so I don’t need to constantly look after them.
