There is always a bit of controversy when moms (or parents in general) do something that is a little bit out of the norm. One mommy decided that her family's mental health needed a bolstering quick outside trip to ensure they can survive the quarantine further. Do mommies know best?
In a post on Facebook, Mommy Kristine Javier posted that she took her kids and husband out of the house for quick trip around their neighborhood. By no means was this a trip of leisure, this was for survival.
The Back Story
In the same post on Facebook, Mommy Kristine explained that her eldest daughter was diagnosed with social communication disorder. When she was 2 (she is now 9) and her husband is also battling with OCD, anxiety and depression. They had followed all the guidelines and have stayed home the last 6 months, barring a handful of visits to their parents. She mentions that she was more scared of social and mental deterioration of her family than of the virus taking hold of them, which drew a lot of criticism from fellow moms online.
We gave her a call
We decided to ask her what her motives were behind it and why she decided to do this. Here are her answers.
What are the things/ factors that made you decide to do what you did?
"I looked back at what our family goals were back at the beginning of the year, before COVID, and it was really to get out more and take more risks. My eldest has always been in need of more socialization, so we signed her up for dance class and Jiu Jitsu. We were all planning a trip to Europe. All of that went away when the lockdown began. So we tried to make the most of it, hoping there would be an end to this quarantine, but there still isn’t. Meanwhile, I’m seeing our friends in the US and in Europe enjoying their lives outside. But the real turning point for me? When I watched this show and the lead character was in jail... I thought, “Wait- at least these inmates get some time outdoors! My children don’t even get that!”"
How do you think we as parents can bring our kids out without harm? What were the precautions that you took?
"We brought extra masks in a reusable plastic bag and big spray bottles of alcohol (my husband and I had one each!). In hindsight, we should have also brought wipes - essentially everything you’d find in a diaper bag. We weren’t expecting to be out for very long, and we had very low expectations. If we ended up going around in the car for an hour without going down, it was ok for us - as long as we got out of the house!"
Would you do this again? Why? What would you do differently?
"We will try to go out every week, maybe on a day when there are fewer people. I was also contacted by other Moms who gave different options of places where we could go. So, I think we can try a different place each week until we find one we are most comfortable with. I wouldn’t do anything differently per se. I’d just keep going out until we get into the habit of going out with the precautions and expectations in mind. I will admit, going out last Saturday was stressful!
There was a point when we (husband, eldest, and I) were all angry with each other because when you’re stressed, you lose your patience! But I also think it’s because we were doing everything for the first time, so we were still fumbling. I know though that the more often we practice, the better we will become at going out without worrying too much and taking it out on each other."
After the walk
"When we got home, my husband who is clinically diagnosed with OCD, asked me if we made the right choice going out. I told him that keeping healthy includes taking care of our mental health. If one of us gets sick (and of course I hope none of us do), we cannot blame ourselves because the virus is out there and we need to learn to live with it, not in fear of it. My worry is more of, if one of us were to deteriorate mentally, emotionally, or socially, and we knew we had the chance to avoid that, then we have only ourselves to blame."
We are all going through this virus and its repercussions together, but we also need to be aware that our situations are not all the same. As it is being said, we don't know what someone else is going through so just please be kind.
If you would like to follow Mommy Kristine, she has her Facebook account at https://www.facebook.com/onemamaminute/ or on her Instagram @onemamaminute
To read more on mental health, click HERE .
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