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A reflective short thread - as I see parents struggle with having kids at home.
For years I struggled too, till I changed my way of work.
1/n
For years I struggled too, till I changed my way of work.
1/n
Children at home is not new, schools have been around only for 2 centuries.
What is new is our work structures, and demands.
2/n
What is new is our work structures, and demands.
2/n
We found a way to include children in our work and life in traditional work.
Cooking? Give the kid a plate to play with. Teach them numbers and measures. Play with real dough - make it yourself.
Gardening/farming? Here's your tiny bit of the job. 3/n
Cooking? Give the kid a plate to play with. Teach them numbers and measures. Play with real dough - make it yourself.
Gardening/farming? Here's your tiny bit of the job. 3/n
Come the assembly line and industrial work structures, we began to have roles.
Not purpose, not care - just chopped up things called roles.
Roles meant we had to fit in a chain, very specifically. 4/n
Not purpose, not care - just chopped up things called roles.
Roles meant we had to fit in a chain, very specifically. 4/n
Ever noticed how leaders manage their time better? They work for purpose, like the farmer did. Not just their role.
But for most, work is a linked, co-ordinated chain. Thus deadlines, performance metrics-and pressure.
Pressure that excludes children from work. 5/n
But for most, work is a linked, co-ordinated chain. Thus deadlines, performance metrics-and pressure.
Pressure that excludes children from work. 5/n
We outsourced parenting to schools, not just education. Covid lockdown has shown us this truth. We need schools for babysitting, so that we can continue to perform our roles.
Notice, we perform, not be. 6/n
Notice, we perform, not be. 6/n
Of course we need to earn a living. Of course work validates us. Of course our roles are important, they move things along.
But when did our roles at work seperate themselves from our lives at home? So much so that we had to stretch ourselves to reach out to both? 7/n
But when did our roles at work seperate themselves from our lives at home? So much so that we had to stretch ourselves to reach out to both? 7/n
There has to be a better way than creating these separate selves that we call roles.
There has to be a way that includes all of ourselves, so that we don't tear ourselves apart in trying to make ends meet, the ends of our whole self. 8/n
There has to be a way that includes all of ourselves, so that we don't tear ourselves apart in trying to make ends meet, the ends of our whole self. 8/n
There has to be a way of including our various selves in our working lives. We have already - finally - accepted the kid intruding on our Very Important Call. Or the pressure cooker whistle.
Now, the other way - can we include our kids in our work?
I did, I loved it. 9/n
Now, the other way - can we include our kids in our work?
I did, I loved it. 9/n
There are so many ways to engage kids in work... and to pause and restart our parts.
We need to find ways that work for us.
(I paused this thread to cook lunch - and chose the pause. Did it do us harm?) 10/n
We need to find ways that work for us.
(I paused this thread to cook lunch - and chose the pause. Did it do us harm?) 10/n
So, I hear you say - this thread is not work. (Well, yes it could be. Some people create content for wellbeing). Whatever work we do, can we find ways of pausing, including - and most importantly - not getting hassled?
It's a journey for each of us, me and you. 11/n
It's a journey for each of us, me and you. 11/n
We trained ourselves to exclusionary spaces, first when we went to school, then when we went to office. We ran away from the richness of life, its chaos, its confusions. Boxed it away. Did we not become less of ourselves then, rather than more?
Maybe it is time to grow. 12/12
Maybe it is time to grow. 12/12
