Dealing with Pandemic Lockdown Struggles: Juggling Between Caregiving and Work

“Overall, the pandemic appears to have produced a unique immediate juggling act for working mothers of school-age children,” U.S. Census Bureau economist Misty Heggeness wrote in her aptly titled paper, “Why is Mommy so Stressed?” In fact, according to research, even before the pandemic, as many as 73 percent of working parents stated that they had caregiving responsibilities that took up nearly 24 to 40 hours of their week.

Here are some tips that may hopefully come of aid to the unsung heroes of the pandemic: working parents!

Sync Work and School Schedules

When your child logs into their virtual schools, you could log into work too. When you sync your schedule to match theirs, you might be able to better manage your time. Even your lunch breaks could be synced, so that, if your kids are very little, you could make time to even feed them as you yourself get something to eat and then get back to work.

Encourage Independence in Kids

When it comes to older kids, it might be fairly easier for you to manage caregiving and work, because they could carry out simple tasks independently. For example, they could fix their own snacks before class or during lunch break. Tasks such as putting their Zoom links on their online calendars could be done by them as well.

Make Time for Self-Reflection

Feeling caught up in the chaos of the pandemic? You’re not alone. It can get exhausting having to look after your home, work, and kids simultaneously during the lockdown. As you sit down for work, you might be thinking of a million different things at once – “Does my child need help with their virtual classes?”, “Have I left the stove on?”, “Am I reaching my work targets?” In moments like these, it’s best to express your emotions authentically with your family and make space for self-reflection and self-care.

Keep Kids Engaged With Osmo

We aim to help you bear the brunt of virtual learning by providing your kids with the resources they need to stay engaged while learning core subjects through play. It’s less likely they’ll interrupt your video conferences when they’re occupied with an Osmo! Since Osmo encourages independent learning, you don’t need to supervise your child either.

Here’s why your kids don’t need to be supervised when they have an Osmo. All you need to do is:

1. Put your device in a compatible Osmo Base with the red reflector over the device’s camera.
2. Play with physical game pieces — draw, code, spell, and more.
3. Osmo scans the table and your child’s creations come alive on the screen!

We hope these tips make it a little easier for you to work from home while your child attends their virtual classes. For information on all of Osmo’s best games for kids, check the rest of our website. We have puzzles for kids, educational games for kids, and a wide range of many more STEM activities for kids that make learning interactive and super enjoyable.