freedom would suffer some curtailment. Their online classes are less than stimulating. College age adults and their parents are entering new territory, often with success. More confined time together makes family meals a time for frivolous conversations as well as discussions on family issues, career directions, politics and where the country is going. The struggle for parents is allowing the young adults to explore and express their views without a critique, remembering the young adults have less experience in formulating their views, but the free expression can be beneficial if the relationship is solid. Young children miss the interaction with classmates and friends, the stimulation of varied outings, and they grow weary of the confined areas of the house and yard too quickly. Lacking the coping skills to adjust happily becomes a daily problem in many households with the stay-at-home parent focusing more time than usual originating and supervising their activities. With preschoolers running around the house,
manipulate. Acknowledging that life is too short to waste on
parents organize craft sessions, watercolor painting, reading
the negatives, the issue of using the time constructively looms.
time, and exercise periods, conscious of activities that promote
Recent studies have shown that relationships between parents
learning as well as relieving boredom, and those periods
and their children benefit from more time together, especially
require supervision.
when an effective relationship is already established. Females
For the elementary student, the virtual classroom situation
seem to share their emotions more freely, so delving into what
in the initial stages required constant parental monitoring
is happening below the surface can deepen a relationship.
while the child became used to the routine. Involvement in
With more contact time, being an engaged listener is possible.
the children’s day, with determined focus on what they were
In a recent survey conducted during the pandemic, out of
doing, however, led many parents to a closer bond with their
500 mothers with children ages 10 – 20, Grant McCracken,
children. The added time with them morphed into a desired
an anthropologist and consultant who specializes in American
commodity.
culture, reported a “shift in the American family especially
Additional time can become an enemy or a treasure.
in the relationship between mothers and daughters.” Asked
With fewer carpools and meetings, less commuting and
which relationship in the family is flourishing the most, 61%
shopping, most parents find themselves with more hours to
of the mothers listed their relationship with their daughters
Coronado Magazine | P69
