This year the conversation is not about the regular back to school that you are used to. This year the question is more like “should I send my child back to school at all?” Parents are faced with the big decision weather to send their children back to school, homeschool or do virtual school for their kids.
We all want to go back to some sense of normal life. We want to not feel like we have to be on mama police for screen time or to feel like we are constantly in need of entertaining our kids.
Many moms are definitely feeling the effects of this chaotic time and are stuck in anxiety or confusion about the future of their children. Is it even safe to send your child back to school?
No Bad Decisions?
You have to know that in the end there are really no wrong decisions. The only thing that makes it wrong is your thought about how it is the wrong decision. I am not here to tell you which choice you need to make in terms of your kids school, that is never my job as a coach. But I do want to offer you a step by step process for you to make this decision with ease.
In this particular situation, every family has an idea about what is right or wrong. So how do you figure that out for your own family?
Three step process
- Take out a peace of paper and draw a line down the middle.
- On one side of the page write down all the reasons why you WOULD send your kids back to school.
- On the other side write down why you wouldn’t.
This is not the same as the pro and con list but instead your reasons for making a decision one way or another. Use this process in any decision that you have to make.
Things to consider
- Your kids ages
- How well they are able to wear a mask and social distance.
- Do they have an underlying condition that puts them at a higher risk for illness?
- Do you live with someone that is in a high risk category?
- What are the number of cases of COVID in your county?
- Can you work from home?
- Do you have childcare?
- What is the school offering in terms of in school or virtual learning?
- How did your children like virtual learning last year?
These are good questions to consider and really depends on your own individual kids. Once you have your list or reasons for sending them back to school or not, ask yourself…Do I like my reasons?
Sometimes our reasons for a list of why we should do certain things comes from a place of fear and frustration. Fear that we might not be doing it right or to people please because it is what someone else wants from us.
Oftentimes, just asking yourself the question…do I like my reasons, will show you that one set of reasons may be coming from a negative emotion like fear or self doubt. While the other set of reasons are coming from different emotions like love and confidence.
It all boils down to this: there is really not right or wrong decision you can make. Whatever you choose, your children will still have 50/50 in life. That is why it is important to get your own back and like your own reasons for certain decisions you have to make.
You can choose to feel good about any decision you make. So make a decision and own it. If you are experiencing a lot of anxiety about your kids during this time, consider the FREE training I have on helping you go from angry to calm.
Next up? Watch the Youtube video on 7 tips on going from unsure to unstoppable in your own decision making process.
