I was recently interviewed by Matt Albert of the Big Picture Parenting Blog at Psychology Today.

Next week kids will be off of school for winter break and with many cities under new shelter in place orders they will find themselves with little or nothing to do.

I live with my husband and two sons.  My two boys are twelve and fifteen, well beyond the terrible twos, but for many months now I feel like I am back reliving the toddler years.

I don’t know about you, but I have had to make BIG adjustments to our house rules, especially screen limits since the pandemic began.

The days full of anger and frustration seemed to be outweighing the days full of joy and satisfaction. My kids and I were locking horns over screen time every single day.

Everyone agrees that in-person learning is best for most kids.  Being in school provides not only the best academic learning opportunities but is essential for the social-emotional development of all children. 

Distance learning is hard on everyone, but especially for our youngest learners and their caregivers.

This past summer, without their regular summer activities, the boys were on the screens a whole lot more, and I know it was the same for most kids.

Elizabeth Markle says that, “in the absence of everything that normally dictates our days, we are called on to create the structures that will support our health, physically and emotionally, in a time of profound uncertainty.”

The screen rules that were in place before shelter in place no longer have the same meaning or value for most families.