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CATEGORY:

SCHOOL, KIDS

BACK TO SCHOOL PART 1

 Modern Mommy Doc


PUBLICATION DATE:

Sep 02, 2020

BACK TO SCHOOL PART 1

 Modern Mommy Doc

CATEGORY: SCHOOL, KIDS

This morning I opened my inbox, and more than a handful of my clients asked: “Back to School is around the corner, I am really feeling worried about my son (or daughter), what should I do?” My answer: “Do what you can do with the information you have now, leave the rest until you know more.”

The whole world is feeling anxious with the unknowns caused by the pandemic; so, when you’re overwhelmed and stressed by it all, know that you are not alone in these feelings! I also think it is an important message to share with your kids too; this whole thing has been just as hard for them as for us. All of a sudden, there were no playgrounds, no seeing friends, no going school, and no playing sports! Their whole world was flipped upside down quickly, which was confusing, especially for the littles. 


You can’t control a lot of things, but you can eliminate stress even if it’s just a little by allowing yourself to be ALL UP IN YOUR EMOTIONS for a second, doing some research on the options available to you and your family, and then waiting it out (instead of continuing to mull over and over on the things you can’t control). This is uncharted territory for everyone. You have to give yourself A LOT of grace in parenting through a pandemic. There is no handbook for this one! 


Back to school is going to look very different from years past and there are still a lot of unknowns. Moms, kids, and families are anxious. Many schools have announced being 100% virtual again or on half time schedules until spring. In our community, no one is going back to in-person school until at least November (huge mixed-feeling sigh from me). Teachers are also entering new times with a virtual classroom, so they’ll have a learning curve, too. Students have to learn in different ways. Some kids will thrive with the virtual classroom, some (like mine) not so much. 


So how do you keep perspective in these unique and challenging times? How do we mentally prepare to go into the new school year?


Come up with potential scenarios and create a plan in your head, so that when you have more info from the school, you can execute more efficiently. Ask yourself, what will you do if your school decides to do 100% virtual learning again (like they’ve done in my community in Oregon)? Will your child be able to hang in with a virtual plan alone or do they need more support?  Are there other opportunities in your community for learning, even if they’re less traditional? 


Remember, you can’t execute efficiently in the dark. Be patient and wait for more info from the school. Depending on the progression of COVID where you live, your kid’s schools will have different policies and approaches. 


Above all else, stay true to how you’re feeling. You know the phrase, “You can’t get over a feeling unless you go through it? This is THE moment where, yes, being positive when possible about how the school year will look is important AND it’s equally important to allow yourself to feel all the feels. 


But how? Talk to yourself like your closest friend would. Imagine what your best friend would say to you if you feel anxious and disappointed. A good friend would never say, “Don’t worry about the school year. Who cares if your kids get an education or not.  It’ll be fine.” They’re going to acknowledge your feelings, remind you it’s normal you feel the way you do, and help you remember you’re not alone. When we learn to talk to ourselves this way, it’s life-changing. 


This is a powerful practice called Mindful Self-Compassion, developed by Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer. Their work highlights how essential it is to address our emotions and to remember to be kind to ourselves.


How do you keep a healthy perspective in these unique and challenging times? What are some strategies you can employ to help you balance the ups and downs without becoming completely overwhelmed? 


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About Our Guest: Whitney Casares, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a practicing board-certified pediatrician, author, speaker, and full-time working mom. Dr. Whitney is a Stanford University-trained private practice physician whose expertise spans the public health, direct patient care, and media worlds. She holds a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from The University of California, Berkeley, and a Journalism degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She is also CEO and Founder of Modern Mommy Doc. Dr. Whitney advocates for the success of career-driven caregivers in all facets of their lives, guiding them toward increased focus, happiness, and effectiveness despite the systemic challenges and inherent biases that threaten to undermine them. 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Episode Takeaways: This is not an episode about “how to grow a multimillion dollar business” or how to double your following overnight. I really shy away from talking about business because it’s disheartening to see that most of the people making online are people who are trying to teach you how to make money online. This is an episode that comes from many conversations I’ve had recently with people who are wanting to start a side hustle or even a full blown business, but are curious how to do that with the rest of life that’s going on around them. I’ve recently made a hugely drastic shift in my career and have moved from private practice into a company called Blueberry Pediatrics . It is a shift that still allows me to practice medicine as well as still running Modern Mommy Doc full time. The thinking behind this shift really is born out of these 8 tips I have about running a business while you’re working full time or maybe still taking care of your family. 1) Know your why. We’ve heard it a thousand times, but if we don’t know the driving force behind why we want to do a certain thing, it’s infinitely easier to stop doing it when things get hard. Ask yourself why you’re so committed to this one particular area. In my business, my why is to help, support, and encourage women (specifically working moms) so they don’t feel alone in their journey. So when I’m pulled away from my family for a time period or I’m exhausted from traveling, I remember the greater mission behind what I do. 2) Expect that you’re going to fail. I just pulled the plug on a project we had been working on at Modern Mommy Doc for two years: the Modern Mamas Club app. I thought it was going to be so valuable for moms, when in reality it was just duplicating what we already had. I learned so much through that process and at the beginning, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Failure is a natural part of growth. 3) Prepare to invest in your business. 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In fact, there are so many parallels between the way I run my business and the things I taught in my newest book, Doing It All: trying to build efficiency into how I do my tasks, batching my work, not spending extra time on stuff that doesn’t matter at all, swapping out for what others can do for me, pairing things that aren’t enjoyable with things that are, not letting things contaminate my time, and making sure my desk, home, and calendar are decluttered. More Blogs on this Topic: T he forgotten boundary: setting limits with yourself Thanks for the cookies in the breakroom, I’m still tired Wake up, working mama. Are you wasting your life? More Podcast Episodes on this Topic: T ranslating “mom skills” into “boss skills” How to be an ambitious, out of the box, career maker and an engaged mom How to claim your confidence as a working mom
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