We can all agree, this new normal is hard.
For families, some parents are still working either from home or at essential jobs while also trying to figure out how to entertain their cooped-up kids and keep their child's education going.
It isn't an easy adjustment.
Parents are going to vent about the process. But parents should still be thoughtful about how they're contributing to this sensitive conversation.
While making an appearance on SiriusXM's The Morning Mash-Up in a Zoom-style four-way call, Justin Timberlake may have taken it too far when he began venting about his pandemic parenting duties.
The conversation started off jokingly enough, when one guest said she was ready to throw her husband out of a window after self-isolating with him. But when the focus turned to Timberlake, he emphasized the hardships of parenting.
Timberlake said:
"To be honest, we thought the best way to kind of do our part was—we have a place in Montana and so, we came up here."
"We're mostly commiserating over the fact that just 24-hour parenting is just not human."
You can watch the interview clip here:
Justin Timberlake Says 24-hour Parenting is "Just Not Human"youtu.be
Timberlake's decision with his wife, Jessica Biel, to go from a highly-populated area to isolated Montana, where hospitals are inevitably not as equipped for an outbreak, struck a nerve with some listening in.
But what bothered most viewers were his suggestions that parenting isn't already a 24/7 job. And that it also isn't human.
Some agreed with Timberlake. Though parents never stop being parents, most households do not have constant interaction with each other, as many parents go to work and/or the children to school.
Most, however, viewed the joking remark as a jab.
They focused on the resources, time and money Timberlake has over most parents.
It's a touchy subject, for sure. All parents deserve the opportunity to talk about their parenting and how hard the process can be.
But for some Timberlake fans, they couldn't help but feel his comments were tone-deaf. After all, he complained about needing space from his son, while staying in a spare home in Montana, in an area where the kids can play outside safely without interaction.
Just imagine if he, or any other bigger celebrity, had to self-isolate on the average family's terms.
The book Be Prepared: A Practical Handbook For New Dads is available here.
