Work from home, school from home, homemade dinners, homemade toys, and everything in between from home. Hasn’t 2020 been… different? 

As a parent, I often refer to the saying “for happy kids, spend twice less money and twice as much time”. Now, look at what happened. We all had to figure out a way to coexist 24/7. 

It is a unique position we’re in to learn the most valuable lessons and teach our kids. Love. Patience. Acceptance. Compassion. Optimism. Creativity.

Different parents from around the globe have summed up what this year taught them. See their answers below.

What did 2020 teach you and your family?  

Angie, Taiwan

Do you have kids? What age? One girl, 19 months old. 

What’s your most-used hashtag of 2020 yet? #SingleMom

Your top parenting revelation this year? Know your limit — whatever may not be accomplished today may be done tomorrow.

What did you miss because of lockdowns? I miss not being paranoid when someone near you coughs or sneezes. 

What did you gain? I gained an appreciation for being happy at home instead of constantly on the go.

Favorite kid(s) homemade toys or activity this year? My daughter likes to dress up in anything she finds around the house like my resistance bands she’ll wear around her neck like a scarf. Babies are so creative!

Dasha, Brazil

Do you have kids? What age? A daughter, she is 8.

What’s your most-used hashtag of 2020 yet? #nobodycanceledsunsets and #housearrest

Your top parenting revelation this year? Definitely not meant to be a kids educator of any sort. But this was not even a revelation. I already knew.

What did you miss because of lockdowns? Freedom of coming and going wherever and whenever I please. Music shows with all the human energy around.

What did you gain? I could say, it was more time with my daughter. But that would not be entirely true. I was in the same house but had to work from the home office and it was more frustrating than anything else.

Favorite kid(s) homemade toys or activity this year? Building all types of tents and shelters out of bed sheets, boxes, chairs, and these sorts of things.

Amy, Cambridge, OH, US

Do you have kids? What age? Daughter, 15 and son, 8.

What’s your most-used hashtag of 2020 yet? #Momlife

Your top parenting revelation this year? No amount of preparation is going to make you succeed as a parent. Parenting requires thinking on your toes and making accommodations to whatever life throws your way as you go.

What did you miss because of lockdowns? I already worked from home, so not much changed in that aspect for me. However, working every day with my kids home instead of at school proved to be a challenge. I began missing my “quiet” hours to get work done while they were at school. 

What did you gain? I gained a lot of quality time with my kids as I helped them with schoolwork, participated in fun activities together, and even had them join in on my workouts.

Favorite kid(s) homemade toys or activity this year?  Homemade parachutes made with different materials, like coffee filters, regular paper, and cupcake holders, to experiment with.

Kaiden, Suffolk, UK

Do you have kids? What age? I have two gorgeous children – aged 10 months and 6 years.

What’s your most-used hashtag of 2020 yet? #DadTribe and #CountingMyBlessings

Your top parenting revelation this year? Back in March, I thought that it was going to be impossible for me to juggle being a stay-at-home parent and everything that comes with it, along with relaunching my freelance career. But I learnt while it’s important to make a work schedule to keep me on track, that it’s just as important to take each day as it comes! Every day with children is different, so be flexible and alter the schedule as/when needed.

What did you miss because of lockdowns? I missed a lot of family gatherings, days out, generally just seeing people. Oliver has spent most of his life in lockdown, so it has impacted on him hugely. Oliver didn’t get to know his family and they were strangers to him – while he now knows them fairly well, we missed watching him develop a bond in the newborn days.

What did you gain? I gained an awful lot. I had the privilege to spend much more time with my children. I also had the time to focus on relaunching my freelance career. Had lockdown never happened, I don’t think I would be in the position I am.

Favorite kid(s) homemade toys or activity this year? For Star Wars Day, I made Joshua a homemade activity booklet and we made homemade pop-up Yoda cards. I had great fun making it and he had even more fun completing it!

Katya, Bangkok, Thailand

Do you have kids? What age? My son is 6. 

What’s your most-used hashtag of 2020 yet? I don’t use any hashtags, but I use emojis. My favorite is ? ❤️

Your top parenting revelation this year? It is better for everyone if I don’t do any homeschooling again.

What did you miss because of lockdowns? What did you gain? Definitely not homeschooling. I believe lockdown united people. We’ve never had a total lockdown here. We were able to go outside and now we know all our neighbours and got a lot of new friends.

Favorite kid(s) homemade toys or activity this year? Kevin likes to create his own board games. Mostly Pokémon-themed. ❤️

Oksana, London, UK

Do you have kids? What age? I have a daughter Polly who is 7 months old.

What’s your most-used hashtag of 2020 yet? #Greenwich It’s the name of the district we live in London. Helps me to locate news and groups of parents who live nearby.

Your top parenting revelation this year? Sleep and peace and quiet. My perception of these changed dramatically since I gave birth. 

What did you miss because of lockdowns? I miss the feeling of spontaneity in spending my free time. Before restrictions you could easily pop in many places. Could have weekends in Europe or visit your hometown anytime. Now for those venues that work one has to register far ahead or queue. We live close to the big concert hall O2 Arena, but all the concerts planned for this year are cancelled. 

What did you gain? I gained a better understanding of the cosiness of being at home and discovered the world of online communication and its time saving function.

Favorite kid(s) homemade toys or activity this year? Listening to nursery rhymes and hearing me singing. Also, Polly is quite happy to play with everything that makes rustle noises – supermarket bags, newspapers, magazines, baking paper, or the caps from her empty milk formula bottles.

Lyna, Germany, Munich

Do you have kids? What age? I have a little baby girl who is 2,5 month old.

What’s your most-used hashtag of 2020 yet? #lockdown and #notravel

Your top parenting revelation this year? We are fresh parents but truly could say it’s not that hard, just stop counting time and enjoy every moment.

What did you miss because of lockdowns? Traveling and people…

What did you gain? Home office policy applied even to old-school companies. It’s a big step. And with a baby, it’s a big plus. We both can see how she is growing and help each other.

Favorite kid(s) homemade toys or activity this year? Once we forgot a stroller bouncy toy at home and the newborn was bored. So we used a mask to hang a rattle over the baby. #parentingwin

Anna, Ukraine

Natasha, Vietnam

Do you have kids? What age? Two Ukrainian-Australian boys, 6 and 4 years old.

What’s your most-used hashtag of 2020 yet? Of course #imsoblessed (more likely #ineedmoresleep or #insideimscreaming).

Your top parenting revelation this year? I can do it! That’s a good one. Yet, the less sweet one is how many little things I usually miss in their lives when I’m at work.

What did you miss because of lockdowns?  Miss seeing extended family members, kids haven’t seen their grandparents in a very long time already. Which is heartbreaking for both sides. 

What did you gain? We gained more time together. It was during strict lockdown when I could see them almost all day every day. It is a luxury. I was also relieved that out-of-the-house entertainment is not that much expected of me during these times. 

Favorite kid(s) homemade toys or activity this year? Pillow forts, chair forts, cardboard forts. Dance parties, dance fight parties, and good old wrestling.

Takeaway

If anyone has marked “more time with kids” as the last New Year resolution… Your wish has been granted!

Though homeschooling and working from home has its struggles for many, most parents say that time with kids was the best thing they’ve gained this year. Another good news is nobody canceled crafting & blanket forts.

Isn’t it something that we were craving in our “normal” lives?