Since the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 has forced a big part of the world to total lockdown. Some are spending their quarantine with their partner, others with roommates, some live alone or with their pets. And some are parents, single or separated, confined with their children. How do you cope with a lockdown situation when you are a single parent? Joël, expatriate in France, is sharing with us his new day-to-day life with his three kids.
Where do you come from and how long have you been living in France? What brought you here?
I was born on Mauritius Island, I am from Quatre Bornes. I moved to France in September 2000. Initially, I moved for my studies in Toulouse. I have a degree in Economics and a Master's degree in IT and information systems engineering. It was easy to find a job in Paris. After that...marriage, three kids and a divorce. Now, we share custody of the kids and I have them every other week. We have a daughter who is 9 years old, a son who is five and a little girl who is two.
What did the situation change in your family life? How do you organize your days during lockdown?
Emmanuel Macron announced school closure when it was my week with the kids. The lockdown was the very next day. My ex-wife was a bit sick so I decided to take the kids for the next 2 weeks. The biggest challenge was grocery shopping. Either you spend 2 hours in a grocery store or you order online with a one week delay for delivery. As I can't let the kids alone, I have to order everything online.
I am lucky enough to be able to work from home. But I had to adapt my schedule. Teachers are sending us the program of the week to be printed every Monday or Tuesday. I don't know how families without a printer do. In the morning, I spend at least an hour with my oldest on lessons and homeworks. Then, I have to attend a bunch of online meetings. After lunch, I work with my son on his school program.
In the meantime, I have to keep them busy. We go out in the garden in the afternoon, they watch cartoons, plat on their tablets, draw, call their mum and grand-mother by visio… it is not always easy to handle.
How the COVID-19 crisis has affected your children? Are they aware of what is happening?
They talked about it at school before the lockdown in a fun way. They learn good behaviours like how to wash their hands.
My eldest daughter is the one who understands the situation the best and also the one who is most affected by it. We celebrated her birthday last Saturday and she was very upset not to be able to invite her friends over. She even put a message on the fridge “Coronavirus ruined my birthday.”
The other kids, as long as they can play, seem happy to stay at home, even if they miss contacts with the exterior. We talked about it, I explained to them why we cannot go outside, that it is because of disease that you can catch anywhere that makes you cough. I try to simplify things.
A lot of parents are quarantined with their children. Do you have advice for them?
I think we need to let them live their life. Even if there is a lot of homeworks to do, don't take it out on them all day. This situation is already very frustrating, we should enjoy every moment we have together. We are parents, not teachers. So we do our best but I believe that teachers will be able to help catch up after lockdown.
Do you follow news in your home country? Do you think of going back after the Coronavirus crisis?
Of course, I am aware of what is going on in Mauritius. My family is fine. I am planning to go back on the island, but only when the kids will be old enough.
