Our entire world is changing and impacting families and regular routines. Many parents desire to live with their children to be able to fulfil their moral obligations and duty of care but today, almost every family is battling to stay as one unit.
Remote parenting has become widespread. Due to unconventional work routine, study, scarcity of professionals in different territories and limited job opportunities in some areas, many parents have made the tough decision of leaving their children in the care of a guardian. Even so, many broken families have to deal with custody rights and more often than not, one of the parents becomes the remote one.
Whatever your circumstance is, there are five ways of making your remote parenting a success of sorts.
- Video Calling
Schedule a video call every day if possible. Endeavour to see your child face to face every day. If you can have a telephone conversation – even for just five minutes – great. A Facetime or Zoom call is even better. Pay attention to how the child looks, what he says or not saying. Make the conversational organic. Ask the same question in different ways each day to avoid automatic answers. Instead of saying “How are you?” everytime, you can ask: “Did you have fun today?”
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- Keep it Real
Don’t overcompensate for your absence by avoiding an opportunity to discipline a child for wrongdoing. Offer commendation where necessary. Ask to see the child’s homework.
- Keep A Mental Note
Always keep a mental note of the details of your conversations with your child. When you make references in later conversations that show that you remember everything said in your previous chat, then the child will naturally feel loved even from afar.
- Check on the Guardian
While the attention of a remote parent may be directed mostly to the child, it is important that the parent keeps in touch with the guardian and be sure of the individual’s mental wellness. It is dangerous to leave your child in care of someone who is depressed, bitter or has other psychological issues.
- Sing With Your Child
Singing is one of the best ways to engage with your child while you are trying to make the best of remote parenting. Except where your voice is irritating, most children enjoy singing with their parents. You can sing the child’s favourite or you can make light conversations about what’s trending on social media.The whole idea is to create a bond that is lasting and a routine that the child looks forward to.
