Pandemic "Parenting"

I am stuck at home during this pandemic. I have decided this is a good time to lay down some rules to help my kids grow up to be well-rounded adults. I took away their cell phones so they don’t waste time talking with their friends all day. They get two hours or carefully monitored TV each day. No computer time until the school district decides if they will stay home or go back to school. The rest of the time they can read or ride the stationary bike etc. I’ve told them I’m really stressed and its their job to make things easier on me. Mind you, I am not asking for any advice, I’m just telling you what I am doing.

 

I was not put on this planet to give advice. Nor do I make suggestions unless asked to do so. I will make an observation or two based on research. There is a huge difference between a wise teacher and overbearing and overcontrolling parent, who tend to cause self-esteem issues in their children. Bottom line: If your goal is to lower the level of self-esteem in your children (albeit unwittingly), make them dislike being at home, and set them up for relationship problems for the rest of their lives, continue doing what you are doing. Research of teenagers (age 13 and up) who perceive they received this type of parental control, predicted lower levels of psychosocial maturity and peer acceptance in mid-adolescence. It also was linked with potential undermining of autonomy so as to lead to less favorable outcomes well into adulthood. More tomorrow.