Parenting and Working and Coronavirus?! Oh shit.

Just when you thought you were getting back into the school/work/life routine, a pandemic hits and life slips into chaos. Thanks to COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, we’re grappling with work, home, relationships, parenting, caring for elders, and ALSO attempting to be our children’s teachers and primary caretakers. Whether this is an abrupt shift for you or something you’ve been doing for years (shoutout to the stay-at-home parents, homeschoolers, and single parents!), we’re with you in this mess, and we’re here to help.


There are fifty-eleven lists of digital parenting resources floating around the internet, so we’ve categorized quite a few below for you to use. But before we do, we want to emphasize that THIS IS NOT A NORMAL WORK TIME. If you are a parent, your job should NOT expect you to be as productive or as focused as usual. Senior leadership should be relaying the message that you should take all the time you need to care for your family and stay healthy (if you are a healthcare provider -- this piece may be more relevant for you). Anything else is obtuse, ignorant, and cruel. And honestly, not reproductively just.

It is just NOT possible to work as much and as well as you do normally while there is a pandemic going on AND while you are responsible for children at home. No one is superhuman like that. Reset expectations of yourself. If you manage people, let them know that their first priority should be their health and the health of their family.

Additionally, the internet is really important for the sharing of information and keeping your kids busy while you’re on a conference call or just trying to take a 20-minute break. If you or someone you know doesn’t have access to the internet, please let them know that Charter and Comcast are offering 2 months of the internet for free for households with children and students.

If you’re wondering how the hell to homeschool, our Ask a Union Organizer columnist Emily is working on some guidance. She works from home and “unschools” her children. The resources below are for any other downtime. If there’s one we missed, send it to us and we’ll add it as soon as we can. At the end, we have a list of lists of activities, in case the resources below aren’t enough. 

How to explain Coronavirus to children

Storytime and Songs

Cultural excursions from your couch

Creative outlets

Move your body

Calm the f&*! down

Something else!

Prioritize You, GeneralReproJobs Team