David Burtka Shares How His Family's Coping Amid COVID-19
David Burtka Knows Parents Simply Can't Do It All During COVID, and Cheers to That!
Between his family contracting the coronavirus in April and moving into a new house on Long Island, the last few months have been a whirlwind for David Burtka. Of course, the incredible stress the pandemic has caused families is hard to ignore, but David is trying his best to learn from it. While discussing his partnership with House Foods and its new video series for kids, The Tales of Tofu, David shared how his family — husband Neil Patrick Harris and kids Harper and Gideon — has been coping over the last few months.
"It's been really interesting. Neil and I have gotten way closer together because he's usually off somewhere or I'm doing something," David told POPSUGAR. "It's been really nice to have him there."
Although David commends his children's teachers for doing everything in their power to make virtual learning fun, there are obviously some setbacks to Zoom classrooms. "Our school is doing a pretty good job of being able to navigate remote learning. I just feel bad for [Gideon and Harper] because they're both social kids," David said. "My kids love to be part of something. And it's really hard to just be in a breakout group of three people."
He noted that learning through Zoom is obviously way less personal than traditional school. "How do you really interact that way? We're all trying to find our footing with how it all works," he explained. "I trust that my kids are doing well. I really hope that they're getting enough one-on-one attention from their teachers. They're in a big group class. Of course, if they had their way, they wouldn't be on screens doing this, but what other choice do we have? We've got to look for the good spots and figure out how we can overcome this and become better people from it."
"Don't try to get all those jobs done that you need to get done."
Because Neil has been busy filming The Matrix 4 in Berlin, David has taken on the bulk of the childcare recently. His biggest takeaway? Don't be afraid to take a moment for yourself when you need it most.
"Now that Neil's gone, I'll be more inclined to take some time for myself," he shared. "That's the thing; normally, I'll just work and work and work and not take any time for myself. And then my neck starts hurting. I get cranky, and then I'm lashing out at [the kids]. And that's never good. When the kids are in [virtual] school, take the time to yourself to meditate. Don't try to get all those jobs done that you need to get done. Read a book or do something special just for you, so you're nicer to yourself and, in turn, you're nicer to everybody around you."
