Dealing With Uncertainty as a Parent

How do we prepare for a future that isn’t clear? How do we prepare our kids for their future when what that might look like is also unclear? 

Uncertainty is an unavoidable part of the parenting journey, but in this episode we’re talking about those really uncertain times: the “this might be nothing, but we’d like to run more tests” times. The “we actually aren’t sure what’s happening here” times. The "this could really go either way" moments in our lives.

In this episode we discuss:

• why parenting through uncertainty is so hard
• how these times have played out in our own lives
• why “just try not to think about it!” is terrible advice 
• why the things we do to reduce our uncertainty can sometimes backfire

Here are links to some writing on the topic that we discuss in this episode: 

Mark Freeston et al: Towards a model of uncertainty distress in the context of Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Nabi Nazari and Mark Griffiths: Using Fear and Anxiety Related to COVID-19 to Predict Cyberchondria: Cross-sectional Survey Study

Victoria Maxwell for Psychology Today: 6 Ways to Increase Uncertainty Tolerance

and this past episode of ours:

https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/the-back-to-school-hell-pandemic-edition/

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