这些家庭想保留的大流行惯例

COVID-19 upended so many of our routines overnight. But for some, the new routines that replaced them have brought positive changes.

Medically Reviewed
妈妈在厨房里割伤她的小儿子瓜子
One pandemic silver lining has been everyone in the family helping out with household responsibilities, like meal prep. 尼克·大卫/盖蒂图像

每个家庭都经历了2019冠状病毒病大流行differently, and for many it has been a very difficult one.

根据一名2021年3月美国心理学会(APA)的报告。One in five working-age adults stopped working entirely due to lack of childcare, according to美国人口普查局于2020年收集的数据。五分之一的孩子有五个家庭报告说,在2020年3月至11月之间的收入损失。美国儿科学会的报告

And more than three in five parents worried about kids getting too much screen time, being bullied online, and internet safety; and more than half of parents worried about kids’ rising stress, anxiety, depression, inactivity, unhealthy eating, and substance use, according to theUniversity of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health 2020

“大流行要求人类弯曲或破裂,”Bethany Cook, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in private practice in Chicago.

RELATED:A Therapist’s Tips for Protecting Your Mental Health During a Global Pandemic

Despite the challenges, it’s also given some families time and space to reevaluate how they spend time together, Cook says. “Many parents have had enough breathing space off the stressful hamster wheel of work and family life balance to realize they want a change.”

帕克·休斯顿(Parker Huston),博士, clinical director of the On Our Sleeves mental health program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, says he sees this trend with his patients, too. “I’ve heard many stories about new habits and routines,” Huston says.

Some changes led to bad habits that now need to be undone, like letting kids do homework in bed late at night and allowing children too much screen time, Huston says. But a lot of changes have been positive ones, he adds, such as families getting outside more, getting more exercise, and spending more time together that’s not just sitting in front of the television.

The Positive Pandemic Routines Families Want to Hold On To

Even though families are still navigating the challenges of通过全球大流行生活, these are some of the positive routines they’ve gotten into that they want to hold on to:

1. Splitting Parenting Duties More Evenly

在大流行之前,库克说,在工作日,她的妻子只有在早晨才看到他们的孩子,然后在办公室里出门了12小时。大流行期间的远程工作使她的妻子能够接管孩子的洗澡和睡前例行活动,为库克提供了急需的晚间休息。库克说,另外,她的妻子现在可以体验她错过的就寝故事。

RELATED:How to Cope With Work-From-Home Burnout

2.与邻居建立联系

具有讽刺意味的是,在家中居住的命令帮助云母梅和她的家人与邻居更加社交。

“当庇护所到位时,我们真的没有看到任何人,我们基本上就住在我们的前院,”梅是一位40岁的图形设计师,也是德克萨斯州奥斯汀的三名母亲。五月的家人放了一个野餐桌,吊床和椅子,几乎在院子里吃了所有的饭菜。他们开始进行家庭散步和寻宝游戏,停下来与他们在此过程中遇到的人聊天。

“We got to know so many neighbors and made new friends — and truly invested in our physical neighbors for the first time in five years of living in our house,” May says.

3.家庭(而不是独奏)进餐和准备

The pandemic forced a dramatic change in family meals for Caroline Bader-Hepting, a 50-year-old stay-at-home mother of two teenagers in Livermore, California. Until then she had done most of the family meal planning and prep. On the rare occasions when her husband or kids made a meal, Bader-Hepting did all the planning for them. And once the pandemic hit, doing that for three meals a day for everyone felt chaotic and overwhelming, she says.

“一切都变得更加挣扎,” Bader-Hepting说。

但没有更多。现在,家庭中的其他所有人都负责每周一次计划和烹饪。

Bader-Hepting说:“对我的孩子来说,明显的好处包括自给自足和照顾他人。”

4. Getting the Kids Involved

Shannon McCormick, a 46-year-old public relations executive in Upper Arlington, Ohio, says her kids (ages 12 and 14) not only learned to cook during the pandemic but also grew to love it. All the extra family time at home thanks to remote work and school during the pandemic made this change possible, McCormick says.

“They evolved from children who would sometimes microwave things to confident young chefs using our grill, a sous vide, the stovetop, and the oven,” McCormick says.

两个孩子现在都在吃学校午餐。但是他们仍在家里烹饪晚餐。

Helping kids be more independent can also empower parents to take some needed time to recharge, Huston says.

5. Spending Less Time Looking at Screens and More Time Reading Books

对于现年44岁的梅格·坎贝尔(Meg Campbell)来说,是弗吉尼亚州福尔斯教堂(Falls Church)的两个孩子(8岁和10岁和10岁)的母亲,大流行期间通勤的结束是一个新目标的开始:一年内阅读100本书。现在,她在第56本书上。

“When I fuel my soul with reading each day I am a happier person and better parent,” Campbell says. It also helped Campbell lead by example as she tried to foster a love of reading — and less screen time — for her kids.

坎贝尔说:“孩子们看到我读书,最好向他们展示阅读比谈论为什么识字很重要,”坎贝尔说。

RELATED:Self-Care During COVID-19: How It Started, How It’s Going

6.优先考虑自我保健例程

Self-care, crucial for parents before the pandemic, has become even more essential, saysAngelica Robles, MD,一个发育行为儿科医生at Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dr. Robles, a mother of two young boys — 4 years and 6 months — started exercising five or six times a week during her maternity leave for her younger son (which lasted for three months in the middle of the pandemic) as a way to boost her own mental health. At first, it was just 15 minutes a day. But slowly Robles increased the length of those workouts, and kept at it even after her leave ended. These workouts, started to help Robles, 36, cope with the challenges of pandemic life, now feel essential to continue, she says.

“It has been tough working full time, trying to spend time with the boys, and keeping this going, but it has helped me feel better than I have in years,” Robles says. “It has been a stress reliever and helped me be a better mom and doctor.”

RELATED:自我照顾技巧照顾You During the Coronavirus Pandemic

当旧的习惯泛滥时,如何保持良好的新例程

Parents who want to keep new pandemic routines going or make changes now — even when it’s possible to return to pre-pandemic work and school schedules — should focus on one big thing, or a few minor tweaks, instead of trying to do too much all at once, Robles says.

“We don't have to pressure ourselves as parents to be perfect at doing it all. We need to prioritize,” Robles says.

罗布斯补充说:“这并不容易,没关系。”“只要对您可以做出的变化以及日复一日地进行的变化要现实。”

Baidu