remember the "clap for the kids"? there's more...

[PineappleDanish]

saw this posted on social media, not naming the author as it's just SO cringe from start to finish... Oh and the AIBU. AIBU to cringe myself outside in and feel a bit nauseous?

Dear parents in the U.K.,

Today marks six full weeks since our country went into lockdown.

You have had your children home for the same time now that you would if they were on summer holidays. People will say ‘but they are your responsibility’ and whilst that is true, no-one could be expected to have imagined this period before they chose to conceive.

You have protected, nourished, educated, supported and entertained your children during a period of national and international uncertainty and fear. You have experienced emotions for yourself and your family that you never knew existed, never mind experienced before.

Six weeks is a long time.

Think about how you feel at the end of the summer holidays, how ready you are for routine, how badly your house needs cleaned from children home, how much work you are ready to catch up on. Remember that exhausting feeling of having so little sleep, much less money and hearing ‘mummy/daddy’ every time you happen to sit down.

And you wonder why you are exhausted after six weeks of lockdown?

You are amazing! You have achieved something no other parent ever has during our time. You have faced six weeks unable to take your child or children anywhere, six weeks of no parks, holidays to break up the boredom, no day trips, no family to help. On top of that you have juggled work demands, loneliness on a level never experienced before, information overload from the internet and emotional turmoil of not being able to see people you hold dear. Even getting food to eat has been a major drama!

So it’s ok to feel drained. It’s ok to feel like you would sell your soul right now for five minutes alone. It’s ok to feel uninspired about another day of homeschooling, another day of never ending laundry and cooking.

It’s ok to be so very tired.

Six weeks is a long time.

But you have made it.

Be proud of yourself. Stand tall.

History will show you for your courage, your children will remember this period as a time knowing they were safe and loved and teachers everywhere are deeply grateful that you are there for your children when they should be but can’t be.

In short: you are awesome!

And so are your children.

My god, what is wrong with people?

Also, does she not realise that home education is a thing?

@Queenoftheashes

It was so exhausting to read I couldn’t get through it.

And it pisses me off, this ‘no other parents / emotions in our time’. I know it is tough, very tough, and for some more than others. But do these Sanctimonious would-be inspirational leaders not read the international news? Are they not aware of families struggling through famine, war, oppression etc etc?

FFS

That would be brilliant- a statue of me sitting on the sofa, surrounded by stockpiled loo roll, eating biscuits and watching Tiger King while my kids wreak havoc around me and refuse to do their schoolwork

Start the crowdfunder now! I would chip in.

Everyone could do without the clap to be honest

Yes, its been tough, its not going to last forever and soon enough we'll be spending every nice day at the beach or the park and going to McDonald's on the way home (possibly not McDonald's, but we'll have the choice)

The bit I really find grating is how teachers will thank you for being there for YOUR kids when they should be there but can't be. What? Fgs. Teachers are human with lives, worries and families of their own too. Not just robots to look after other people's children.Yes, they care but I'm sure they're not waking up each morning saying,"Thank God, little Johnny's mum is looking after him for me, what an absolute hero she is."Lots of teachings staff are still working anyway.

My inner pedant is stamping its feet.

'Needs cleaned'

Save me.

I think what you wrote @PineappleDanish was a bit OTT.

The summer holidays are 6 weeks long.
Some families can't afford to go away and they spend those weeks with a trip to the parks.

That's my first point.

The second is that I'm old enough to have parents who lived through WW2 as young teenagers.

What they and their families went through was a million times worse than the past 6 weeks.

Some people need to get some perspective and also read some history.

Mummas. Fuck off. Who uses that word?

Why all the contemptuous sneering?

Honestly the last 7 weeks for us has been a difficult at times. My preschooler is missing her friends as am I missing but it ain’t been that hard. We are also facing this for much longer as a shielding family. Keeping a 3 year old entertained and a baby has been so much easier than my previous job of teaching at a secondary school.

Out of the 8760 hours in a year teachers are only responsible for children for 1365 of them. It’s parents jobs to look after their children

I'm still waiting on Clap for Cats.

@Queenoftheashes

That is really bad. Is she is single mother? Or does she just have a husband who doesn't do anything?

I'm enjoying it, there's no rush over everything. Cooking meals is easier, I'm not having to work around everyone elses timetables ( work, out of school activities etc) Ok I have the advantage of a house that is more than big enough for our needs and plenty of outdoor space, we are not struggling financially (salary has dropped but it's more than offset by not commuting)

I know some people will find it harder than me but some it will also be easier. It's not about being a mother or not it's about the individual circumstances

Oh sweet Jaysus, bleugh! Some people are just such drama llamas aren't they?

It’s ok to be so very tired.

Urgh 'so very' - fuck off.

I am disappointed that there is not 'Clap for parents' at the end of this though!

That would be brilliant- a statue of me sitting on the sofa, surrounded by stockpiled loo roll, eating biscuits and watching Tiger King while my kids wreak havoc around me and refuse to do their schoolwork

😂

teachers everywhere are deeply grateful that you are there for your children when they should be but can’t be.

What? No. Teacher's aren't grateful to parents for actually looking after their own children!!

@FlamingoAndJohn nope she’s got a man at home who is very involved judging from their millions of pics. She’s just a notorious dick. I only saw the post because my friend sent it to me being all “look what your cousin is saying now”.

But do these Sanctimonious would-be inspirational leaders not read the international news? Are they not aware of families struggling through famine, war, oppression etc etc?

Those sorts of things only happen to other people, do they don’t count, do they?

And British mainstream news doesn’t seem to cover international events these days. If it’s not in Britain, EU, US (and occasionally Australia) it’s just not happening

For example, how’s India, Nigeria, Rwanda, Libya Columbia or any of the big refugees camps getting on?

Yes, life is crap.
But History hasn't celebrated Mummas bringing up their kids in a Mumbai slum or a Syrian bombsite.
So I doubt History will make much of Jen from Basildon not being able to take Alfie to Soft Play

All this "parents need to parent and look after their kids" shite really pisses me off on here.

Yes, we are parenting, but parenting is usually not groundhog day (once your kids are past the age of about 3), it is not usually trying to balance your own mental health alongside that of your children as you try very carefully to weigh up the needs of each member of your family, as you try, very hard, not to let them get health anxiety, separation anxiety due to never being without you; as you try with your older child to ensure that they have enough exercise so that they don't completely lose the plot; as you try to ensure that they have enough virtual social contact with other children when they would normally be with other children day in day out; as you try to make life interesting at the weekends so that it is significantly different to the weeks, without the ability to actually go anywhere; as you try to work from home, to hold down a job which is highly likely to disappear in the next three months, whilst home schooling.

This situation is in no way comparable to the summer holidays, where everyone is relaxed and chilled out and you have the ability to see family and friends and even (shock horror) maybe go on holiday for a week or two (and yes, I know, not everyone has the means to do that -we probably won't next year). And for whoever questioned whether people have heard of home education- cop onto yourself - home education is not doing the same thing day in day out whilst trying to hold down a job. If you home educate, that is your job and you go and do things, you go swimming, you go to libraries, you meet with other home-educating families.

So yes, the tripe in the OP is badly worded, but some of us do feel like that. It is hard.

Pathetic.

You have protected, nourished, educated, supported and entertained your children during a period of national and international uncertainty and fear.

Um yeah, that is the exact job of a parent! Also, they said 'nourish' which is on my MN list of 'what words do you hate' (along with 'so very').

Agree with the PP who said that it's not about being a parent/mother, it's about individuals. I too am enjoying not having to rush around every morning getting everything ready, everyone's football/dance/swimming stuff, dropping off and then rushing to work, spending evenings dropping off and picking up etc and am rather enjoying the slower pace of life. That doesn't mean I can't acknowledge that some people aren't in a living hell right now.

But I really don't need a fucking medal for looking after my own children during a pandemic and 'being there' for them because 'the teachers can't' (WTF?)

That would be brilliant- a statue of me sitting on the sofa, surrounded by stockpiled loo roll, eating biscuits and watching Tiger King while my kids wreak havoc around me and refuse to do their schoolwork. The author was right- I AM awesome Oh that sounds much more like family life as I know and love it.

Sorry that should say some people are in a living hell right now.