Important Lessons Learnt from 2020

This year has been an absoloutely “unprecedented” one but the best thing to do is reflect on the lessons learnt from 2020. Just like in every aspect of life we can learn and grow and hopefully come out stronger and better on the other side.

Here at Famous Parenting, we decided to ask our team of trusted partners and friends what lessons they learnt from 2020. What we found super interesting is that everyone learnt something different and had a different perspective on the year that was.

It is truly amazing and a testament to our fortitude how people in pretty crappy situations were able to learn some wonderful lessons.

The main thing we realised and what they missed and learnt from this year was that family is paramount.  Whether that be your blood family or your chosen family we all need people in our life who have our back and love us.

So, whatever you do this festive season we hope you get to do it with family.

Lessons Learnt From 2020

2020 in a way has highlighted our vulnerabilities, urging us to act in unity so as to rise above any and all circumstances.

The year 2020 has certainly been eventful! That’s putting it mildly! Thanks to the pandemic, we’ve been imprisoned in our homes, lost loved ones, and had our lives turned upside down. And this just might be the start of a new beginning. A new norm of hiding behind masks, social distancing, and cyber-living.

And yet, as the year comes to a close, I realize I’ve learned, or shall I say been reminded of three crucial lessons, such as:

Be grateful for all I have: The past few months have taught me not to take anything for granted. Be it good health, sound spirit, or financial security, count all your blessings, and be grateful for it all. 

In 2020 our family learnt to get back to basics and rejuvenate family time.

In some ways this year hasn’t been a massive change for our family as we have always homeschooled our kids.  However, it has been a big change in other ways.  My best lessons learnt from 2020 are to spend time with family and get back out in nature.

Our kids usually have a lot of extra-curicular activities which means our weeks are very busy.  This year, a lot of those activities have been cancelled due to the  COVID-19 pandemic.   So, as a family we had a lot less time out and about and a lot more time at home.

At first this really stressed me out!  What on earth was I going to do with my kids and all this extra time?  I drove myself crazy planning things for the kids to do.  I was constantly trying to fill any spare time so that they wouldn’t get bored. As the year progresses, I realized that this wasn’t the best way to spend my time.

In fact, I started to just not fill in this time and see what happened.  It was amazing! My kids astonished me with their creativity! Instead of organizing craft, cooking and other activities we read books and went for walks and bike rides.  We got out in the garden and used our imaginations to play.

As a family we grew closer and taking time for each other is the best lesson learnt from 2020.  I feel we learned a lot more about each other and are planning to continue this less crazy lifestyle from now on!

Sara Cronain – Famous Parenting writer and homeschool super mum 

2020 has taught me that my health and that of our family is most important 

I think we can all agree that this year has put health at the forefront of our minds.  A health pandemic will make you look at things differently. 

Hopefully, it has made some people ask “Are we as healthy as we can be”?  If the answer is no, then “How can we improve our health“?  This has been my most important lesson learnt from 2020.

My lesson learnt from 2020 is that tech has been a god send this year but nothing beats real life social connections

I am “that guy” with the high tech computer room set up.  My greatest joy is updating anything to the latest model. 

So, at the start of this pandemic when social gatherings and work meetings went online I was absoloutely in my element.  I was all for the work shirt on top and the sweat pants on the bottom!  Even the girls were loving speaking to Nan and Pop on zoom.

The excitement of being online slowly wore off and I found myself craving in person social connections.  I missed catching up for poker night and having a meal at our local restaurant. 

Even really small things like taking the girls to the park with a bunch of other families became something I really missed.  Plus, the girls started to ask when they could visit Nan and Pop’s again.  They missed their hugs and wanted to see the animals.

So that was my biggest lesson learnt from 2020.  While I love tech, I love real life more!

David Patelli – Famous Parenting Writer and boss girl dad

With so many children moving to online learning the lesson I’ve learnt from 2020 is that adults and children alike are compellingly resilient.

The biggest award this year goes to all teachers who had to transition quickly to online learning.  Our education system has never had to go completely online and they didn’t have a lot of time to plan and execute it!

This also goes for the children who were at school one day and the next were learning remotely.  There were difficulties for both children and parents with juggling things such as school and work.  The real winner of this situation is that the level of education appears to have been maintained!

My lesson learnt from 2020 is I love being a stay at home dad but struggled without the freedom to get out and do different things

I have been a stay at home dad for almost 3 years now and absolutely love it!  However, this year has made me almost resent being at home.  Not my kids!  Or being a stay at home dad!  In fact, I started really hating being stuck in my house.

Normally, a day includes going to the park or to the local bouncy indoor play area.  We may get out to the shops, visit relatives or embark on long nature walks. This year has been a lot less of all that and much more time at home.

Now, my home is my safe place, my sanctuary!  However, in 2020 I got real sick of that space. Plus, I am not the decorator and organizer within the house.  That award goes to my lovely wife!  So changing up our space was not an option for me.

Indeed, my best lesson learnt from 2020 is that my kids and I are true adventurers!  We love being busy and getting out and about.  Even being a stay at home Dad before the pandemic, we found being at home really hard.  For us, the next 12 months include some fun family adventures, different activities and please my darling wife, maybe a reno or interior decorating change.

 Manuel Rizzo – Famous Parenting Writer and Stay at Home Dad

My lesson learned for 2020 is that humans, including me, are amazingly adaptable

Many parents have found themselves with changed employment circumstances.  Some have been unable to operate their businesses as usual, particularly during lockdown.

Uncertain and changing times have meant that businesses, particularly small ones have to adapt quickly to survive.  For many, this has meant finding alternative markets for goods and services.  These include, an online presence via an eCommerce website.  This in turn, has created new opportunities at iDesign Digital Agency, who can now offer the design and development of affordable, effective and fully optimised eCommerce website design.

I love that out of all the uncertainty and anxious times the strength of the human spirit prevails and people find a way to continue to thrive.

Owner of iDesign Websites.

My lesson for 2020 is to do things that make you happy and for me that’s preserving food!

2020 has been a year that none of us could ever have imagined!  For many of us, our lives were turned upside down and we have been forced to look at our things in a different way.

This year has re-enforced to me how we should try and simplify our lives.  Of all my lessons learnt from 2020 the best is to rely more on ourselves than third parties.

A perfect example of this is getting back into the garden.  Growing your own food is fun for the whole family and teaches your kids where their food comes from.  Leading on from this, the family can congregate in the kitchen to cook beautiful, healthy and delicious food.  Preserving your own food is a great way to know you will never go without!

My biggest lesson in 2020 was time management, delegation and how to put my family first

I’m the co-founder of a large electrical company.  With 2 kids, I’ve realised how important it is to manage my time and delegate tasks.  I want to be home to help support my partner and be apart of raising my kids. 

The realisation of knowing that I do not have to be the person working in the business, that I can shift the responsibility has been a blessing.  My business partner and employees enjoy having more responsibility and the company has matured as a whole.  Now, my main focus is growing the business rather than working in the day to day operations.

Deciding On My Tasks

Shifting the responsibility and being able to step back has been one of the hardest things I have learnt to do.  However, it was definitely made easier knowing that I had to make it work for my family. 

Before I embark on any job or new task I ask myself these three questions:

1. Who is capable of doing this task? 
2. Can I train an employee to do this task?
3. Who will enjoy doing this task? 

These 3 questions can be easily implemented for most businesses and have made it an easy process for me to decide who I delegate jobs to.  

I have found that if my employees are happy and enjoy their work it is completed to a higher standard and in a quicker time. 

Being a 24 hour electrical company, I still need to take some calls in the middle of the night.  I may even have to go out and complete some jobs.  But, by having a great team around me, they are extremely willing to help pick up the extra hours and jobs. 

This has allowed me to support my partner and make sure that I am home more.  I also have the headspace to enjoy my time and be present with my little bundles of joy. 

Nick Phillips Co-Founder of Oleada Electrical and Air

Cooking with love has turned this strange year into a beautiful experience

This year brought a lot of uncertainty and worries to the whole world.  Of course, this included my family and me.  Despite the difficulties of homeschooling my nine-year-old daughter and working from home, I decided not to give up mainly because I’m her role model.  With that in mind, I chose not to pass on my fears to her and find exciting ideas to shorten our free time.

One thing caught my attention – healthy cooking with the air fryer. This great alternative to traditional cuisine changed our lifestyle for the better.  Air frying cuts calories by 80% and requires little or no oil, making it a healthier solution for the family.

I involved my daughter in the whole air frying process, and we had a lot of fun in the kitchen.  Considering my daughter’s age and that she isn’t a skillful cook, we can confirm that air frying is entirely safe to use plus leaves your kitchen clean.  From air frying, baking and roasting to reheating, defrosting and grilling the cooking combinations are almost infinite!

Running a business and working from home has been a challenge since my kids had to learn from home 

My lesson learnt from 2020 was that my kids and I assume all kids require a lot of attention.  During the day this is usually provided by their friends and teachers at school.  All of a sudden, I was the one that had to provide them that attention.  Keeping my kids happy while running the business was certainly a challenge. 

I decided that I needed to find a way to keep my kids occupied and feeling loved when their classes were online.  I could then concentrate on my work and keep my business running. 

Every parent and child are different however what worked for me and my kids was crafting. 

Keep Kids Active To Get Your Work Done

I found that I could help them get set up with craft and then let them complete it while I was working.  This let me focus on my business and allowed a feeling of love and attention to my kids and a focus on my business at the same time.  It is surprising how many crafting activities can be completed with materials you already have at home. Egg carton crafts were surprisingly, their favourite. 

What I’ve realised this year is that balancing family life and business is harder than first expected.  During the school term this is easy to manage.  However, every year there are multiple school holidays and I’ll take these lessons with me year after year. 

For every parent working from home and running a business the realisation that your kids crave attention is vital.  Finding a way to provide that to them while still being productive in your business is essential. 

For our family, crafting was the way to achieve this balance. This may not be the case with all families however, there will always be something.  For example, drawing, crocheting, outdoor activities, writing or reading. I believe that allowing my kids to be creative made them more confident in themselves.

Jenny Agoston Owner of Crochet News

My biggest lesson learnt from 2020 was being unaware of how interested kids can be in gardening and learning where food comes from.

I run a gardening blog and my kids have grown up with me gardening on the weekends.  I took it as second nature that all kids have fun in a garden! 

It wasn’t until my son’s best friend came over while they were off from school.  He helped us in the garden and I realised that not all kids have the privilege of growing vegetables and herbs in a garden.  Being able to watch their food grow and use their hands to dig around in the dirt is delightful.  They also get the reward of helping something else live.

Now that restrictions have lifted, I ask my kids to invite their friends over to help in the garden. They have their own veggie patches and their friends enjoy helping them and learn about how and why things grow. 

They particularly enjoy when it’s lunchtime and they get to pick what they want to put in their salads.

James Middleton From Aussie Green Thumb

Many families learnt a lesson from 2020 and that is Home Birth is a safe option for many families

2020 saw an increase in women across the world choosing to give birth at home. This increase can be attributed a number of factors including fear of going to a hospital during a pandemic and not wanting to travel during the pandemic.

Women have been giving birth since the beginning of time and in the early days birthing was done at home. Over the decades and through the use of modern medicine in hospitals we have seen hospital births become the norm.  This is, of course, totally fine!  2020 has bought to light the necessity and safety of women having the choice to birth at home.

Overall, 2020 has opened a lot of womens’ eyes and made them consider having a home birth.  I think this is a great step forward to normalising and beautifying the birth process.  It brings us back to our roots and I hope this is one of the positive lessons learnt from 2020.

Alana from Home Birth Hub

2020 has been an unforgettable year.  Incredibly challenging, transformative and a life-changing year for many across the globe

However, there have been many positive lessons we have learned.  Resilience, community, to slow down, pause and to commit to things we care deeply about. Most importantly, it has taught us to be mindful of our health and wellness – for ourselves and the planet.

An unhealthy environment can negatively affect your skin and overall health –  for your body and mind.

Think About Your Skin

Using non-toxic, clean and healthy skincare for yourself and your loved ones is highly important.  60% of what goes on children’s skin has to be absorbed by their little livers.

Why take your chances using common skincare on your little ones which is packed with synthetic fillers?  Lullaby Skincare has a gorgeous range which has been created for babies, children, sensitive and eczema-prone skin.

All products consist of over 80% organic Aloe Vera as their base ingredient.  This is different to simply water like other skincare brands.  Aloe Vera is incredible healing, nourishing and nurturing for all skin types.

In addition to Aloe Vera, Lullaby uses other high quality Australian ingredients to nurture and clean the skin such as jojoba oil, avocado oil, chamomile and vitamin E.

As a community, it’s a wonderful feeling to come together and practice wellness for ourselves and our surroundings.
Let’s start by taking care of our family and ensuring their skin is clean and nourished with gorgeous, natural products.

Kirsty From Lullaby Skincare