How to Parent an Only Child Through a Pandemic
Are you your toddler’s only playmate right now? Experts say that’s ok
By Katie Grant
Just two weeks into social distancing for COVID-19, my 3-year-old daughter’s favorite lovey became her new best friend — complete with his own deep voice and her ability to blame things on him.
It made me sad.
Not because she’d created an imaginary friend (which is completely normal around this age and a sign of creativity), but because she is an only child. And she can’t be around any other children for who-knows-how-long.
She’s been in preschool since she was 18 months old, and she was enjoying playdates with her three best friends. She was learning how to share and take turns and process conflict and emotions.
And then, the day before her 3rd birthday party (that we had to cancel), it all stopped. We started staying safer at home.
I worried that she might never know a world without masks, seeing other people only from six feet apart. I wished for a backyard in case she’d never swing on playground swings again.
I was mourning the loss of the normal childhood she might never have.
