Home sweet home? More like home fresh hell.
New York City parents are losing their minds trying to balance working from home and playing teacher to their cooped-up kids amid the coronavirus outbreak. Schools shut down Monday, leaving mom and dad to their own devices.
“It’s definitely chaos,” says a 37-year-old Brooklyn lawyer and mom of two, who asked to withhold her name for work reasons. “Everything is out. Toys are everywhere. It’s complete mayhem in here. Do you know how hard it is to research and write while I have two f - - king kids running around?”
This isn’t the first time the Bay Ridge attorney has had to work from home with her kids in tow (a boy, 4, and a girl, 5), but having to stay on top of their schoolwork for weeks on end is almost too much to handle, she says.
“To teach them and to do my work is f - - king insane,” she says. “I’ve worked from home before, but I never had to teach them.”
Her daughter, who attends a private school, still has daily assignments that she has to complete as part of the curriculum.
“I have to check her homework and it disrupts what I’m doing,” says the frazzled mother.
Many parents agree that keeping their children entertained — and on top of their work — is a constant struggle now.
“It’s difficult, we do not want them playing on the computer all the time,” says Jenny Beguero, 37, who was playing tag with her two kids and hubby at Juniper Valley Park in Queens Wednesday. “They miss school.”
City officials say it’s still OK for people to visit green spaces as long as they practice proper social distancing and aren’t experiencing any sickness symptoms. They should also be sure to wash their hands after using playground equipment.
“Parks are open and great places to get fresh air and exercise, but we want New Yorkers to use their common sense,” said Parks Department spokeswoman Crystal Howard in a statement. “When in a park, we recommend activities where social distancing is easy like walking, running, and hiking.”
The Parks Department is working closely with both the mayor’s office and the Health Department, and Howard urges parents to check its website daily for updates.
A dad playing with his 5-year-old son at the park said even the schools themselves are bungling the move to online learning.
“With the school, things didn’t work. Nothing worked!” says Jerry, 44, who asked to withhold his last name for employment reasons. “They were supposed to set up online classes but it didn’t work. We don’t know what to do.”
It’s not just Big Apple parents who are ripping their hair out — North Carolina mom Stephanie Caudle is feeling the pressure to suddenly be a good teacher to her 5-year-old daughter, too.
“It’s stressful because I am receiving six to seven emails from my daughter’s school each day,” says Caudle, 31. “I often stress if I’m doing it right and if my child is going to fall behind because I am currently juggling so much.”
Caudle, who runs the freelance staffing agency Black Girl Group for African-American women, has had to pacify a few tantrums along the way.
“I had a brief moment of frustration when my daughter randomly decided to throw her shoe across the room for no reason but that she thought it seemed cool,” says Caudle. That is, “before it hit me.”
Getting her daughter to switch into learning mode while still at home has been a big issue for the mom as well.
“The hardest part is trying to remind my daughter that [while] we are at home, this is still ‘school time,’ ” she says.
As if the homework weren’t enough, there’s also the question of feeding them, says the unnamed attorney from Bay Ridge.
“Living with little kids is like living with dogs,” she says. “All they want to do is eat all day.”
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