Turning a Bad Situation Good
COVID-19 has taken a toll on everyone’s mental health. With the pandemic forcing schools to teach completely online, all children and parents were pulled from their normal routine.
Dr. James Snyder is the father of two children in the town of Millbrook, New York. His daughter Beatrice is 7 years old, while his son Finn is 9 years old. Each of them faced different stressors throughout the year that they weren’t expecting.
The biggest source of stress with being a father of two children during the pandemic was the judgement of other people. Snyder and his wife decided to take a risk and keep their kids in youth hockey, because they knew it was good for them.
“You make decisions for your life, but people really second guess those decisions,” said Snyder, “how do you frame your own behaviors to other people?”
He was also sure to stay off social media because of how judgmental other parents can be. “They really have different definitions of what it means to be safe.”
For the kids, it was missing out on being around other kids. “Birthday parties and big milestones like that disappeared for kids their age,” said Snyder.
The shocking part was the fact that masks never bothered the kids. “They’re totally fine with it. They don’t care at all, most kids don’t.”
With school being fully remote, it was difficult to get his children to learn to the best of their ability and stare at a screen all day without getting distracted. They would also fight a lot from being around each other as much as they were.
After dealing with this for the end of their children’s kindergarten and second grade school years and seeing how much it affected them mentally, the Snyder family came up with an alternative solution.
The solution… bringing school into their home.
They met with two other families over the summer and thought of ways to enhance their children’s’ learning. “We all agreed that we couldn’t do what we did in the spring again,” Snyder said, “it was impossible. It wasn’t good for us and it wasn’t good for the kids.”
They ended up hiring their own personal teacher to teach the curriculum. They turned the Snyder dining room into a classroom, adding desks in place of the table with six chairs for the six children to sit at. They also used the pond in their backyard and nearby trails for gym classes and exercise.
This was the perfect solution to an unexpected year, that created a great experience for the entire family. They called it “The Pod Squad.”
Leaving the pod when school was back in person was difficult for the children at first because they were nervous to leave their new routine. They became very sentimental about being in their fun little pod and really cared for the teacher as well. “They were never scared of being sick, I just think there’s anxiety with reinserting yourself in situations,” Snyder said.
“It was really fun for them. That investment made it so much healthier for us,” said Snyder. “It’s hard enough being a parent as it is without having to be a teacher too. Those are very distinct roles that you want to maintain.”
