Apr 28, 2020 in Life Coaching

Pandemic Parenting Survival Purchase

Let’s face it. Parenting at home while trying to work is challenging. And by challenging, I mean terrible. To top it off, I am a single parent to two young kids (ages 4 and 9 months) so honestly, I don’t even want to hear complaints from those with partne

Let’s face it. Parenting at home while trying to work is challenging. And by challenging, I mean terrible. To top it off, I am a single parent to two young kids (ages 4 and 9 months) so honestly, I don’t even want to hear complaints from those with partners.

Yet single or not, one thing is certain; we are all struggling. Of course, we love our children, but no one ever signed up to play both housewife (or househusband) and simultaneous breadwinner, with no childcare.

So, how am I, a single parent, surviving the parenting apocalypse? With the help of one simple purchase; the Disney App.

No, I am not building extensive Lego castles with my active 4 year old all day long. We are not creating sock puppet theatre and broadcasting it on instagram to raise money for sheltered animals. We are not doing science experiments, and I am tragically behind with his online learning (online learning for a 4 year old? Really??)

However, my son is most definitely caught up on the cultural canon of fairy tales. He knows that Ariel found her voice. He knows that true love can awaken someone from deep sleep. And yes, he is obsessed with puppies who fight crime. 

Do I feel guilty? Constantly. But no matter how much of the Disney Channel my son watches, it’s still way less TV than I was exposed to, during the “neglectful” 80s. Yet somehow, I turned out more or less OK.

And, the Disney App is actually amazing, and way better than the trash I watched as a kid (cue The Young & the Restless, and Three’s Company). The Disney App has all the classics, from Mary Poppins, to the Sound of Music, to old fashioned Mickey Mouse. Children are fascinated by storytelling. Stories are how their developing minds best take in new information. So why not awaken their soul through fantasy, magic and storytelling?

Before you judge me, we do go on regular nature walks, we do build Lego and we do paint. We just also sing along to Julie Andrews on a regular basis. And if music, lyrics and fantasy are not important educational tools for a 4 year old, then I quit. I’m done. I’m logging out of my Pinterest account forever, and signing in to be an 80’s parent again. Pass me a smoke while I watch Mary Poppins clean up the nursery with a snap of her fingers. Contemporary parenting isn’t working for me anymore, and I’m signing into my Disney App.

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