How Celebrity Parents are Dealing with Our New COVID19 World | Kids Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world together like nothing before it and the experiences celebrities are having are no exception. From east coast to west coast and around the globe, celebrities are sharing their stories of how they are keeping safe, keeping busy, and passing their time at home.

A fun summer glance at how Hollywood adapts to a Covid19 world on the public surface level, realizing all of humanity is experiencing deep emotionally, mentally, financially and at times physically challenging times. Thank you SoCal Adolescent Wellness (Huntington Beach) practitioners Leilani Carinio and DeAnna Tavakoly, for adding a mental wellness context for what is happening with children and families, below the surface.

Many celebs have shared their stories on social media about how they are dealing with this new COVID19 world.

How are celebrities spending this unusual time in modern history?

Appreciating the Finer Things

The Legend-Tiegen family has been active on social media for years and they haven’t let the pandemic slow down their habit of sharing. Father John Legend and mom Chrissy Tiegen have been spending time at home with their two children, daughter Luna (3) and son Miles (1). It should come as no surprise that John is encouraging his kids to focus on music during the lockdown. John shared a video of his kids dancing while he played the piano.

SoCal Adolescent Wellness, “The importance of having consistency and structure is vital in creating a sense of stability during this chaotic time. Having consistency in routines, responsibilities and expectations can provide a sense of predictability. When children know what to expect and expectations are clear, realistic and manageable, this provides them with a sense of structure and safety in the world. Experiencing a sense of control in an uncontrollable environment can be achieved through healthy activities and routines, leaving children less vulnerable to seeking control through unhealthy means. Having another safe and supportive adult in their life also contributes to their sense of safety in the world.”

Kardashian Clan

Arguably America’s most famous family, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are at home with all four of their children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kim admitted on social media she’s struggling to keep her kids busy when there’s not much to do and families can’t stray far from their homes. Kim took to Instagram looking for ideas on what to do from other parents. KK and KW’s kids range in age from 10 months to six years of age.

SoCal Adolescent Wellness, “Crisis can often be an opportunity for change and can motivate families to pull together and reconnect with their resiliency as a unit. While it’s certainly difficult and stressful to navigate new responsibilities involved with at-home care, it’s also an opportunity to cultivate more consistency for the child. This includes more consistency in the parents’ presence, which is very important to a child’s development.”

Kim’s sister Khloe is enjoying her time at home with daughter True, who recently turned one. Khloe often shares pictures of True via her Instagram account and it’s easy to see she loves spending so much uninterrupted time with her daughter. Khloe’s best friend Malika recently gave birth to son Ace Flores, but the lockdown has prevented the two from meeting up so Khloe can meet the new baby.

Keeping Active

The eldest of the Kardashian sisters, Kourtney, like many,is spending time at public parks, keeping her kids active and avoiding cabin fever with activities like hiking and horseback riding.

Eldest son Mason wasn’t in the mix during a recent outing, but Kourt shared photos and video of daughter Penelope (7) and son Reign (5) riding in the desert in Lake Powell near the Utah-Arizona border after travel restrictions in the US had eased. She captioned the pics “Escape to the desert.”

Spending time in the great outdoors, while still keeping our distance from those not in our immediate circle of family, is one of the best things we can do for our health while still protecting others, say experts. According to Mitchell Silver, New York City Parks Commissioner, “It’s very important for people to get outside. Parks are so beneficial because it can help reduce that stress.”

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez

Alex and his two daughters, Natasha (15) and Ella (11) joins fiancé Jen and her 12-year-old twins Maximilian and Emme during the lockdown. The engaged pair and their mixed brood have spent the days during the pandemic trying to stay as active as possible.

Jennifer has shared videos of the kids using a hoverboard while the family hung out at their home. Alex was pouring drinks and Jennifer captioned her video “We can’t go out to any restaurants or anything but the service and entertainment here is pretty good…#StaySafe #familytime.”

Finding Ways to Celebrate Graduation Safely

Like everyone else, many children of celebrities were forced to miss their school graduations this spring. Some of the world’s most well-known people found creative ways to celebrate the achievements of their kids in non-traditional ways.

Celebrity parents having virtual celebrations included Kelly Ripa and husband Mark Consuelos, who recently celebrated their oldest son Michael’s graduation from NYU. Kelly shared a picture of their son and captioned it “And just like that you graduated college. MJC, the joy and pride you have brought our family is indescribable. I love you with all my heart.”

Husband Mark shared the same photo, writing, “We are so proud of you. #quarentinegraduation2020 we know it’s not what we all expected but we are so grateful to be all together on what I know must seem like the longest family trip ever…”

According to Kelly, Michael is uniquely special and has been kind and hard worker his entire life.

The Ripa-Consuelos family aren’t the only ones celebrating virtually. Teri Hatcher commended her daughter Emerson Tenney on Instagram on her graduation from Brown University, calling this year’s graduating class “more resilient than most” and complimented them on making lemonade from lemons.

Pierce Brosnan congratulated his daughter Dylan on her USC graduation and Julianne Moore gave a shout-out to son Caleb on finishing with his time at Davidson College and getting into graduate school. Moore shared the thoughts many families are having these days when she posted “We are heartbroken that we cannot celebrate him today in the way that he deserves.”

SoCal Adolescent Wellness, “While many traditional events and rights of passage have been postponed or modified, this provides an opportunity for us to reflect on our values and identify what brings us a sense of meaning now that so many meaningful events have been hijacked. How do we celebrate our accomplishments when there are less opportunities for external validation? Connecting with the true meaning of certain celebrations instead of focusing on outward appearances can help cultivate new adaptive rituals and traditions that foster connection.”

Making the Most of a Difficult Time

All in all, celebrities are doing their best to make the most of a confusing and unusual time, just like the rest of us.

Explains Gwyneth Paltrow via an Instagram post during a visit to a nearby farmers’ market: “We must take this seriously and shelter in place. It’s time for nesting, reading, cleaning out closets, doing something you’ve always wanted to do (write a book, learn an instrument or a language or learn to code online, draw or paint) going through photos, cooking, and reconnecting on a deeper level with the people you love.”

SoCal Adolescent Wellness, “This pandemic can elicit feelings of uncertainty. There have been a lot of changes leaving us not knowing what to expect next, and this can often increase anxiety. Sometimes children struggle with expressing themselves and it is very helpful to have the support of a skilled professional who is able to connect with them and support them in exploring their feelings as well as learning coping skills so that they don’t feel alone in the process.”