“I got used to being tired”: Parents after 120 days of confinement

Taking care of the emotional health of caregivers, such as moms, dads, and even uncles, aunts, and grandparents, is essential to create a family support network for children.

I know that I am not well

child boy bully parent comfort support school console together father bored embrace hug consolation

I got used to being tired and having problems falling asleep.  I am not sure what is wrong with me, but I know that I am not well.

In addition to the stress posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, confinement has multiplied tasks at home for a large number of mothers and fathers. The care of children and work tasks have made the attention to emotional health diluted before so many family issues and concerns to be resolved. 

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As the weeks passed since the beginning of the confinement, I began to forget the place where I had kept some things, such as the correspondence from the bank or documents from my son’s school, and explains that her sensation of the passage of time became very confusing.

The value of self-care

It is essential that mothers and fathers learn to rest, as well as to take care of their schedules for sleep and eating. Although the entire parenting stage can be an exhausting period, in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the self-care of mothers and fathers is an essential matter for the well-being of their daughters and sons.

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Before child caring, the first ones who should take care of their health and ensure their well-being are parents.

child homework father help problems homeschooling kids laziness refusal unwillingness quarantine

When we get on a plane, before taking off, they explain to us that when there is an emergency and we need additional oxygen, we are all going to need to wear a mask, and that we must first put on the mask to help the other, it is the same thing that happens with mothers and dads who are taking care of their babies, the first ones who should take care of their health and ensure their well-being are themselves. In the face of the health emergency caused by Covid-19 it is very important that mothers and fathers are attentive to their own moods and health, as in the example of the plane, if they don’t put on the mask first, they put their children at risk of putting it on, and everyone could be in trouble.

Mental or behavioral disorders

It has been several months since the emergency began and the way we relate to voluntary confinement may have changed, as well as our emotional state; do not hesitate to ask for professional help. According to World Health Organization (WHO), a mental or behavioral disorder is characterized by a disturbance of intellectual activity, mood or behavior that presents symptoms observable by the affected person or those in their environment such as sleep disorders , anxiety, fear, difficulty thinking clearly, among others.

by Tannia V.

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