Living in Tier 3 is interesting. You can go out and about, but you can’t visit each other in homes. Making friends becomes very challenging at the loss to your support network. As a mother, I am aware of how often I call my mum, my friends who have more experience to ask advice on each stage of my children’s development, and how to handle parental challenges; generally, that everything is normal. It is a validation that I am not omitting something to contribute to my child’s development.
I met another mum recently at my eldest daughter’s sports activities. We stood two metres apart talking realising we have a lot in common. We talked about our children being the same age, how they found school and she resulted in talking about her daughter’s challenges with mealtimes, namely that she refused to eat any vegetables, and not wanting to sit with others if they ate food that was different to hers. There was a consistent question that kept coming from this mum ‘Am I a good mum?’. These weren’t the exact words, but in short, that is what she kept asking.
I bumped into an old friend in a supermarket car park where she talked to me in 2m about her concern around her son’s schooling, that she felt the Covid lockdown has put her very much behind, and not being able to approach teacher’s at the classroom door made her feel that she was letting down her children. The question came up again ‘Am I a good mum?’ repeatedly and all I could say was, of course you are.
The strange thing was I couldn’t say let’s stop for a coffee and a chat, or come around for a cup of tea, let’s take the kids out to the park, it all feels so stilted at 2m distance. It’s a validation that not only mums need, but people in offices and workplaces.
How do graduates grow into their roles and develop capability without listening in to the office chit chat, shadowing others into meetings or tapping someone else on the shoulder for help and support? It’s a lot harder on video conferences but business can adapt and has succeeded in this.
I’m pleased that these amazing mums spoke to me and released their concerns, as I do with my support network too. It just reminds me all the more that in our personal lives and our working lives that we all need validation from others in different ways.
Skills Repeat 