We Need to Check on Our Kids
They are the real superheroes in this.
Simon broke into tears. Over ice cream. Yes, my mild-manned, even-keeled, gentle son was having a tantrum over a cold bowl of sweet dairy. With a cherry on top.
Did I mention that he’s nine? We are long past tantrum years.
He had eaten ample snacks and treats throughout the day, so I thought that his nightly bowl of ice cream, which he’s come to expect, was unnecessary. Gluttonous really.
Besides, it was time for bed.
“What is wrong with him?” my husband asked, perplexed by this uncharacteristic behavior.
“He’s just tired, I guess. We played outside all day,” I justified, exhausted myself, pouring myself a glass of wine.
My husband is considered an essential worker during these pandemic days. He owns a small restaurant that has morphed into a busy curbside and delivery business. He has been working long hours seven days a week since this pandemic began.
He is hardly home. We all miss him.
Although I try my best, our household is out of sync. And kids need sync. So do I.
Thirty minutes later, Simon was still physically upset, choking on breath, face stained with wet emotion.
He climbed into bed fully dressed, teeth unbrushed. My son, who normally reads at night, leaned over and clicked his bedside lamp off. Book closed.
I hugged him hard, smooshing him with my bodyweight, wanting to cry too. Then I whispered, “You can have ice cream for breakfast.”
What would make a child, who is normally so agreeable and calm, regress to his terrible twos?
It Was About Much More than Ice Cream
- It was about a little boy whose life has been shaken like a snow globe with no indication of when the snow will settle back in place.
- It was about a little boy who overhears frightening words like virus, death toll, contagious, pandemic, quarantine, and lockdown.
- It was about a little boy who once joined his mommy in the supermarket. Now he is locked in the car in the parking lot watching her gear up with a face mask and rubber gloves.
- It was about a little boy who hasn’t seen his friends in six weeks.
- It was about a little boy whose basketball season ended early and his baseball season never began.
- It was about a little boy who once sat at a desk in a classroom who now does schoolwork on a couch in pajamas being taught by a woman who lacks her degree in education.
- It was about a little boy who has been having too much screen time.
- It was about a little boy who misses his dad.
- It was about a little boy who rides his bike past his favorite park and sees it roped off with yellow tape.
- It was about a little boy who sings “Happy Birthday” to his friends out of his mom’s minivan sunroof, instead of at a birthday party.
- It was about a little boy who sees his parents on virtual happy hours, clicking wine glasses against computer screens.
- It was about a little boy who is bored.
- It was about a little boy who somedays doesn’t even get dressed.
- It was about a little boy who hasn’t seen his grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins.
- It was about a little boy who missed his family vacation during Spring Break.
- It was about a little boy who overhears his parents talking about who has the virus.
- It was about a little boy who goes outside to see neighbors having conversations six feet apart.
- It was about a little boy feeling no different than how adults feel.
Final Thoughts
We’ve heard the expression, “We’re all in this together.” That includes our children. They are experiencing this chaos too. Try as we might to keep our households structured and routine, the kids have been tossed around.
And quite honestly, I think they are handling it more gracefully than some adults.
Sure, we complain about suddenly having to homeschool them. But, they didn’t ask for this.
They miss their teachers, their hallways, their morning announcements on the loudspeaker.
They miss asking to use the bathroom. They miss fire drills and assemblies. They miss recess and hearing friends’ laughter. They miss cafeteria food and crossing guards.
They miss school spirit and spelling bees. They miss Smart Boards and janitors. They miss water fountains and library books.
They miss their old lives too.
We need to cut them some slack. We need to be the grown-ups here.
Let them cry over skipping dessert. Let them unravel. Unhinge.
Because it’s about so much more than ice cream.
Emme Beckett is has been featured in The Bad Influence, The Haven, Fearless She Wrote, The Ascent, Live Your Life on Purpose, The Post-Grad Survival Guide, Home Sweet Home, and ILLUMINATION.
More pieces like this:
