Nataly Davies, a sophomore at the University of Idaho, is a married mother of two and is learning how to balance marriage, being a mother, her own school work and her personal freelance photography business — all while being under government-issued quarantine. This has presented her and her family with more challenges in their already busy lives.
“Internally I went into a full panic,” Davies said. “I was not sure how I was going to balance time between school and my kids. Most moms are kind of the head of the family, and I was trying to show out for mine.”
Davies and her husband are both full-time students living in university apartments on campus with their children. Jaxson, her 8-year-old son, went to public school and Penelope, her 4-year-old daughter, was cared for at the UI Children’s Center.
Davies husband preferred to remain anonymous, so he will be referred to as her husband.
With neither of the children able to attend their usual daily activities, Davies and her husband are learning how to balance caring for children, schoolwork and time for themselves.
On top of that, Davies is unable to continue her photography until later in the spring when the stay-at-home order in Idaho is lifted. She said she misses the work and empathizes with college and high school seniors who are unable to go through their commencement ceremonies.
Davies said she wrote down a schedule that resembles what her family’s normal routine is. Her husband focuses on his schoolwork in the morning, while Davies watches the kids, and they switch in the afternoon.
Davies and her husband are working to keep her children educated so they don’t fall behind when they go back to school. Jaxson’s third-grade teacher has begun giving out packets of schoolwork for him to stay up to date on his learning. Penelope participates in similar activities Davies finds from social media.
Davies turns her fear of letting her son fall behind in his education into motivation.
“I’m going to help him as much as I can,” Davies said. “Parents should be really thankful for the things that teachers are doing. I’m seeing a lot of effort from my son’s teacher.”
Another way the family spends time together is by taking walks along the bike path. When her husband seems like he needs a bit of alone time, Davies said she takes her kids out of the house to a place with not a lot of people. When she feels like she needs a break, she retreats to her treadmill with a pair of headphones.
Davies keeps the no-screen-time-rule that the Children’s Center had when it was open, something she said improves the mood of both her kids by a long shot.
“The kids can get a little short-tempered if they don’t get enough social interaction with us and each other,” Davies said.
With the children’s bedtime being around 7:30 p.m., Davies and her husband can get a decent amount of quiet time before they go to sleep themselves. She said this gives them time to sit and watch movies together or finish up the homework they did not get the chance to finish earlier.
“It will be OK because we will all be together,” Davies said.
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected]