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It's easy to forget amid the stress of the moment, parents, but you're not just stuck inside with your kids right now—they're also stuck with you. Cabin fever is a two-way street: If you think you're going crazy, imagine how the little person in your house feels having school, friends, and all semblance of a daily routine ripped out from under them.
We wanted to know. So we had some of our contributing writers turn their recorders toward their own tiny roommates and ask some hard questions—about themselves.
Parent: Chris Stamm
Child: P.K., age 6
Chris Stamm: What has it been like spending every minute of every day with me?
P.K.: It’s a little boring. But mostly not since I can watch a lot of TV and play video games a lot.
What's the hardest thing about being home with me all the time?
That I can't watch TV all the time.
How do you feel about going to school on the computer?
It's a little bit boring, but I'm OK with it as long as it's not too boring.
What's hard about it?
I can't do everything I usually do in a classroom. It's a little bit hard.
What do you like about being home all the time?
Maybe that I can watch TV a lot. And play video games. And watch you play video games.
So basically you like screen time.
A lot.
Is there anything I do that annoys you?
Play your guitar too loud when I'm watching TV.
Would your feelings about the pandemic be different if you didn't have screens?
Very different. It would be kind of a nightmare.
Parent: Kat Merck
Child: Felix, age 7
Kat Merck: How has it been having to stay at home the past six months?
Felix: I hate it. It’s good because my parents get to, like, know me and do stuff with me a little bit more, but most of all I hate it because we have to stay home all the time, and do schoolwork. I really hate that.
What has been the hardest part?
I can't see most of my friends, and if you leave your house, most places you have to wear a mask, and they hurt my nose. So I try not to go that many places.
How do you feel about being able to have so much quality time with your parents?
Hard times. Honestly, I just don't like it, because staying home with my mom and dad means more arguments and more frustrations, and then more punishments.
What would be your advice for other kids in this situation?
Try to manage your parents. Try to do what makes you OK, but also makes your parents OK, because if they're not OK, it's going to make your life more difficult. Just try to find a way that both you and your parents can be happy. I haven't done that yet.
Parent: Jordan Green
Child: Lana, age 10
Jordan Green: What do you like about being home all the time?
Lana: Playing games. I like how I have more time to hang out with friends and think more than just going to school. I guess technically going to school is thinking, but…
I hear you. What's been most difficult about all of it?
Not really being able to see my friends in person all the time.
Is there anything I do that annoys you?
No.
Really?
No, not really.
Huh. That's good. So it hasn't been difficult being around me all the time?
No, besides the fact that you write a ton.
I write a ton? Thank you! Oh, you're saying that's a bad thing and I spend too much time doing that?
Yes.
OK. How do you think this would be without screens?
Probably much worse. I almost don't want to think about it.
How do you feel about going back to school online?
I don't mind.
Do you hope to go to school this year?
[Blows into glass bottle] I'm not sure. I could go either way.
Parent: Anthony Effinger
Child: Veronica, age 15, and Christopher, age 17
Anthony Effinger: What's it like to be stuck at home with your parents?
Veronica: Both my parents worked from home before COVID, so it’s not much different, but we do get to have dinner as a family much more often since activities like soccer, mock trial, piano, and bassoon lessons have all been canceled.
Christopher: I actually don’t mind it as much as others might. I think the main reason I haven’t gotten sick of it yet is because we all have our own areas of the house.
Veronica: It’s hard to look on the bright side of a deadly global pandemic, but I’ve been able to focus on my athletic development more than ever. I’ve gotten into digital art. I picked up the violin, and I entirely redid my room. I’ve also had time to learn about things that school won’t teach me, like leftist ideologies, the prison-industrial complex, and the fight for Indigenous sovereignty. And I’ve fostered a total of nine kittens for the Pixie Project.
Christopher: It really hurts Donald Trump’s chances of getting reelected.
What are the worst?
Veronica: Big picture, the worst things about COVID are the loss of life, the overcrowding of hospitals, and the number of people who are unemployed and struggling. For me personally, the worst thing is all the cancellations, school and soccer, in particular.
Christopher: It has also made the college application process way more challenging. I haven’t been able to visit any schools, and I don’t know how COVID will impact the admissions process. In a broader sense, it contributes to the feeling that people my age are getting absolutely screwed over.
What do you think when you see normal life happening in other countries?
Veronica: I am once again reminded of the massive shortcomings of the USA and its government. I wish I lived in Finland. Or Holland.
Christopher: When kids in New Zealand went back to school, I was jealous. Then I got angry at our own incompetent government because we were nowhere close to doing that. But now “normal life” is so disconnected from what we’re living through that it seems almost fake.
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