“Don't worry, kids are resilient?” Are you familiar with the saying?

The phrase, often used to brush off the effects of hardship, trauma, illness or some other negative experience that children go through, could essentially be applied as the expectation of parents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, too.

Work from home while teaching your children from home?

“Don’t worry, parents are resilient.”

Return to work while COVID-19 and other illness are running rampant among child care centers? Then occasionally work from home with the sick children on the couch?

“Don’t worry, parents are resilient.”

Formula shortage?

“Don’t worry, parents are resilient.”

Amoxicillin shortage? Tylenol shortage?

“Don’t worry, parents are resilient.”

Parents ARE resilient. They’re still at it, making the best out of whatever shortage or other chaos is sent their way next.

But the expectation that parents be resilient just minimizes the hardship — and doesn’t do a thing to help those coping.

The truth is, parents pick themselves up and keep going. It’s good that parents are resilient.

And kids, too, though it should be noted that children aren’t born with resilience. It takes communication and an adult helping them to face their emotions. (It’s not a great saying!)

In fact, one such case of the saying being irrelevant might arise because of the current Tylenol shortage. Even if children are “resilient,” they may need Tylenol to reduce a fever.

Another such situation is when a mother of triplets was recently calling numerous stores to locate the formula her babies needed. As these new shortages come up, the formula shortage is yet to resolve itself for some.

Yes, parents are resilient. They do what they need to do for their children.

But they should not have to be. More needs to be done to curb shortages, to get formula and Tylenol back on the shelves at grocery stores — consistently.

— TL