School From Home: Helicopter Parenting Is Back!

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School From Home: Helicopter Parenting Is Back! (Quick-ish post)

For many of us school has just started for our precious little ones or just about to begin. With the COVID-19 pandemic though life in general is not what we're used to anymore. Like some of us working from home, our children are also "working from home". School is not what it used to be and is 100% essential to our children's future and just humanity's future in general.

I've noticed a BIG problem during the first week of my daughter's school from home ...I'm sure I'm not the only one but I am very confident a lot of us have become full time drill sergeants! Hopefully I can share my tips and tricks to help cope with this new normal.

About the drill sergeant (the helicopter parent is approaching)

Photo by
Michal Zacharzewski
from FreeImages

"STOP FIDGETING! It isn't your turn to talk yet! Hit the mute button! BE QUIET! Didn't I say STOP FIDGETING?!?!" and the list goes on and on. We're familiar with this but in a normal disciplinary home setting and not nearly as frequent I would hope. Just once and a while. A few times a day. Unfortunately with school from home it has been a more of a every 15 minutes thing.

With this new school from home the dreaded drill sergeant or the "helicopter parent", has reared its ugly head into our lives 7-fold! Understandably it is tough and an even tougher habit to break when your little one is in a zoom meeting with a teacher and possible thirty other kids right next to you, screaming at each other, and speaking out of turn. 

How I break away from this

I need to remind myself! I remind myself that nothing is easy, normal, or desirable right now. We as parents, the first and primary teachers to our children, MUST relate to them and empathize their situation to our own. Think, now you have someone to share and relate to in this difficult environment. Here's a few pointers to try and resolve hovering over your kid during class.

Lets be relatable 

Here's a list of things I've been noting throughout my daughter's first week that I as a work at home parent can relate to with my child.

Photo by Michal Zacharzewski from FreeImages

• The environment is not nearly as comfortable or professional as working in the office or in your child's case, school. There is a time and place for work and school and home is generally not the first place we think of. We've accustomed and programmed our minds that home is for relaxation and fun, not for work. 
• Limited supplies: at my job I have a pretty fast dual monitor computer with a very fast and very reliable internet speed. Not to mention an endless supply of free office supplies at my disposal and if I need assistance I can simply walk over to a manager. Your child is experiencing the same thing. Your child is using spare tools likely provided by you or the school and supplies in the class room and the teacher are readily available. None of us are used to the limitations that school and the office cannot provide.
• We're all having a lack in human interaction during work/school hours. Our children can't go out and play during recess just like we can't talk in the break room over coffee. Our children's friends are at their finger tips but they need to be muted during meetings so the teacher can do their job.
• There is an endless list of distractions readily available in the home compared to the office and at school.

Parents, take a deep breath and show some restraint

We need to remind ourselves most of all that we are adults and we should show some self restraint. This is your child's time to learn. Although new, you must have faith in the school and its abilities to teach your child. You must also have faith in your child. Here are a few tips I am required to tell myself during my child's class.

Image by Cleo Robertson from Pixabay

• Let the teacher teach! Emphasizing that we as parents are the first and primary teachers, we have all day and all night to do so. During class time, let someone else do it! Teachers are trained professionals that went to college to learn how to teach your child's age group. Ta hoot, they can handle thirty-ish of them at one time. That's a feat to be reckoned with. Just tell your self, "they can teach the academics and the rest is up to me!"
• Here's a situation I often find myself hoovering over my child with; she's lost or doesn't know what to do. At home your child is used to asking a parent. Guide your child to ask the teacher. Remember don't scream "PAY ATTENTION", you need to guide that little pony to the watering hole so you don't need to keep getting the water for them. Get them in the habit of doing things themselves. Of course if all else fails, step in lightly or ask the teacher yourself. In this new environment it is easy for anyone, especially your child's mind to wonder so getting lost can be frequent.
• Patience. Although there is a lot going on in that zoom meeting next to you, and in an adults mind this could very frustrating and stressful to listen to, it is not your problem. I take a deep breath, advise my child I am here if they need me, and put on my noise cancelling headphones.
• Have faith in your child's knowledge. Give them a chance to learn! They are brighter than you think and pick things up fast!

About your child's learning experience

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

To be quite honest, you should be proud of your child. They are adapting and even evolving! For starters we got to understand that they are learning some pretty advanced things by schooling from home. They're learning stuff we could only dream of when we were kids just in general. 

For starters, most elementary public school children are normally learning computer programming, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), music, and sometimes even robotics on top of their normal academics. Some school even have dual immersion programs with other languages. That alone is pretty fancy. School from home is even crazier as now they're learning clerical/corporate skills like Microsoft office, Excel, Power point presentations, all of the free google tools, browsers, virtual meeting platforms, and more. This is real-world learning and they have a step ahead than we did! This can be pretty intimidating and this is pretty advanced stuff. We as parents need to take this into consideration.

Something else to think about, and we all need to be in this together; the teacher may even be new to this. They have learned all the new tools in a practically overnight crash course to prepare to teach your child and from what I've been seeing, they are pretty damn good at it given the short period of time. Give them a virtual pat on the back and standing ovation! Maybe even a slow clap!

Show them the way and be a cheerleader for your child!

Photo by Hello I'm Nik 🎞 on Unsplash

How I help my child with learning all this computer mumbo jumbo is as simple as a point with the finger. I show her where to click and explain what it does. Don't get confused, as we should never take the keyboard or mouse and do it for them, just point! They need to learn by doing. When they've done it, reward them. Tell them they're doing a great job. Some encouragement helps with the experience.

Overall, we need to let our children independently do their job as students. Our job as parents is yes, to teach, but more importantly to guide! We need to guide our children to that watering hole I mentioned before so they can learn where it is and get it themselves.