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The ONE thing COVID-19 taught me about Parentinghttps://hellomyvillage.com

As a parent, I depended on my routine to get me through the day with my kids. It was my scheduling, bringing my kids to practices and events that I focused on to be a great parent. When COVID-19 hit, all the activities, practices, social events stopped or moved online and all of a sudden I didn't have my routine anymore. What that left was a lot of empty spaces in my schedule when I didn't know what to do with my kids. I realized that I shouldn't have solely relied on a routine (a System). I knew COVID-19 putting me in my house with my kids 24/7 was a great opportunity for me to really enjoy being a parent, and the fact that I didn't know how to approach that really bothered me. It made me realize my routine was a mask for me to feel in control, and that's not what parenting is supposed to be at all. It's kinda like putting lipstick on a pig to make it feel pretty.As I pondered on getting to the root cause of the issue, it dawned on me that reliance on system rather than an ecosystem would only get us so far as a society. It is simply not sustainable to raise a child in a silo. I shouldn't feel like my commitment to my routine is the only thing that keeps me from not engaging with my kids. I shouldn't not know what to do with my kids when they have an excessive amount of free time. I should be able to enjoy time with them, talk, laugh and ENJOY being a parent. When I'm not able to give them my full attention, I shouldn't be worried about them getting bored. I should have a reliable ecosystem in place for my kids when I'm not able to give them my full attention. COVID-19 made me realize just how much of that ecosystem involves other parents, volunteers, friends, etc. When my kid's soccer practices, debate competitions, etc. were cancelled, was when I saw how much my parental network shrank. I know that there are so many other parents, like myself, who are going through the same thing and just don't know where to turn to for help.That's why I am building Hello My Village. We are on a mission to democratize childcare through a unique barter system. We believe that childcare should be pooled and extended as a joint societal effort.Join our Focus Group today (6/6/20) at 4PM EST, where we will begin to idealize what a sustainable parenting ecosystem looks like.https://zoom.us/j/94997421719?pwd=Z0RyWHUvKzIzVlJPZGFYMDFsUFZFQT09