Parenting woes

The article about the Duchess feeling “exhausted” with parenting during lockdown deserves the award for best reportage of the year. As also the Duchess, she deserves the award for undertaking the dirty job of parenting and cutting her children’s hair, and being exhausted with it (“Kate Middleton says she is ‘exhausted’ from parenting in lockdown,” Jan. 30, Gulf Today).

The royals of Britain who live on the taxpayers money and have several aides seeing to their every need complain that taking care of their three children during lockdown is exhausting. And so I wonder if new English words need to be invented to describe the plight of the thousands of parents who juggle work and minding their children while they do their online schooling, and mind the house and household chores, all without the help of a single aide.

Then there are the essential workers — those in healthcare, supermarkets etc who have the additional burden of being on the job and dealing with the virus face to face.

What adjectives can we use to describe these parents? I think the Duchess should be ashamed to whine about her cushioned lifestyle and these items should not even make it to the news.

Caroll Smith
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