Well-known communication expert Maha Abouelenein on what it takes to thrive in the age of social media
Doing chores together, exercising on weekends
Juggling with multiple career, household roles
"Kids don't understand the urgency of work calls. Often when I am talking to my boss, he comes screaming, hovering on my shoulders wanting to snatch my phone. When kids find their parents at home, they expect us to do things that we do over the weekend," says the Russian mother who wakes up early to respond to all work-related emails.
These are times when Mishu is kept busy with his father in their 'sad' (Russian for garden), getting his hands dirty and pulling out weeds in their kitchen garden. At other times he is busy jumping up and down in the trampoline as Anthony sits with his office laptop, tucked in a backyard corner, minding his toddler time-to-time.
"Sometimes, I feel there is too much of chaos in the house. Mishu is asking for attention, we are shuttling between office and other household work. In the evening, we sit with our son's nursery work. Then it's about tidying up all his scattered toys, laying the table, dinner with TV and finally winding up," says Anthony.
"So, our home is serving as school, workplace, gym, theatre and even as beauty salon for Valeriya over the weekend," laughs the husband.
"My husband helps me a lot in the household chores as he is between jobs. So, we take turns to clean the house and are trying to be more creative with our meals. Kitchen demands have increased as more food needs to be cooked with everyone at home," says Beatre Renauld.
While 12-year-old Fedrick navigates his way through school time independently, sometimes chatting and laughing with his classmates on his daily webinar, eight-year-old Maxim often feels lonely finishing his school tasks alone.
"For my younger son, I have to download worksheets, and he then sits and completes those. He feels bored working alone and wants me to be by his side as there is hardly any virtual interaction with his classmates, unlike my older son. So I have to help him out and be a proxy school companion."
As people are hunkering inside homes, the Renaulds are definitely fostering the family bond.
"In our mundane lives, these are basics that go past us in the rut of our otherwise demanding lives. So, we are catching up on those. These days in the evenings we watch Internet TV or a nice DVD together, do video chats with our families and friends, and dinner times have been pushed as there is no rush to go to bed," adds Beatre.
Well-known communication expert Maha Abouelenein on what it takes to thrive in the age of social media
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