Single parenting has always been a challenge, but it has become especially difficult during the COVID lockdowns. In addition to spending more time with your children, you’re faced with the issue of providing them with the educational opportunities they will need to stay up to speed with their classmates. These suggestions can help you better manage your time with your children until schools resume normal operations.

 

Don’t Set the Bar Too High

Remember that everyone is struggling at the moment and that your ability to survive is an accomplishment in itself. As long as you and your kids are eating and meeting basic needs, that’s going to be good enough for some days. Other days you may get more accomplished, which is great! However, you can’t expect to maintain that same degree of productivity each day.

 

Don’t Expect a Full Day of School Every Day

As a single parent, you may be working from home in addition to caring for your children. That’s a great deal of responsibility to take on, so you shouldn’t try to do everything at once. Set aside two or three hours a day for going over school work with your children and leave the rest of the day for your work, household chores, and relaxation. This will help make things easier on you and your children.

 

Create a Routine

It’s time to think like a manager and create a schedule for each day. From the moment you get up, you should know what you’re doing and how long each task should take. For instance, set aside 30 minutes for answering messages, texts, and emails. Once those 30 minutes end, focus on educating your children for three hours. By setting up blocks of time in this manner, you’ll get more done each day, and you won’t feel as overwhelmed.

Finally, don’t forget to take some time for leisure and entertainment. Let your kids have more time on the computer, or watching television. Use this time to take a bath, read a book, or get in some exercise. Your ability to relax and enjoy parts of your day is essential to your physical and emotional health, so don’t feel guilty about working this time into your daily routine.