For Actress Julie Bowen, Parenting During COVID Has Require Creativity and Communication
There's no denying the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a lot of people for a loop, but parents in particular have been faced with some unique challenges. They've taken on more work, facilitating e-learning and coordinating extra curricular, without any additional income. (In some cases, parents have even lost their jobs during the pandemic.) They've had to figure out how to explain the year 2020 to their children in a way that isn't totally terrifying. And they've had to do it all in isolation, a revelation that hit actress Julie Bowen pretty hard.
"People have discovered, 'Oh, isolation makes me feel bad. I need to talk to some people,'" Bowen tells Woman's Day.
A post shared by Julie Bowen (@itsjuliebowen) on Aug 11, 2020 at 8:12pm PDT
But as challenging as it's been to stay apart, Bowen says "that feeling of isolation can be really profound" and force you to get creative in the way you connect with loved ones. Bowen, for example, has taken it upon herself to arrange Zoom parties for her three sons – two 11-year-olds and a 13-year-old — and their friends, as well as trivia nights with family members across the country. These video chats help take the kids' minds off of the pandemic by giving them a chance to see and spend time with the people they care about.
But even with the benefits that come with virtual hangouts, Bowen knows it's not a perfect solutions and worries about how her kids are coping. She started doing daily check-ins to touch base and give her sons a safe space to talk. But she has to go beyond just asking, "How was your day?"
"I ask my kids all the time, 'What was the good part of your day?' 'What was the bad part of your day?'" Bowen says, adding that this method gets her more than one-word answers or grunts. "Trick them into telling you," she says, laughing.
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