24-hour parenting in isolation is ‘just not human,’ says Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are abiding by social isolation recommendations with their 5-year-old son, Silas. The family of three has been holed up in their vacation home in Montana and while Timberlake says they’re doing good (and grateful to be in a place where they have some outdoor space for Silas) he admits he and Biel are missing having help.

During an interview with SiriusXM’s Hits 1 this week Timberlake was asked how his marriage is holding up under the stress of isolation. “We’re doing good,” he said. “We’re mostly commiserating over the fact that 24-hour parenting is just not human. It’s not. ”

He’s not wrong. Parenting isn’t something we are supposed to do in isolation. Throughout history, we’ve had support from extended family, friends and our communities, the proverbial village. And now we don’t have that, which means we don’t have breaks from our kids—something Timberlake is missing.

He says sometimes even Silas looks up at him with an expression that shows he is needing some space from his dad, too. “Just a commercial break,” Timberlake jokes.

We all need a commercial break from our kids sometimes. Experts say that in these tense times when togetherness is necessary and our kids need us more than ever, we also need to carve out space when we can by doing things like waking up 15 minutes before our kids do for a quiet coffee break, or maintaining a bedtime schedule to allow for some adult time at night.

Encouraging independent play is another way for parents to get some space when they need it. According to Biel, Silas (who just turned five this week) is super into Legos right now, so maybe he can build some projects on his own the next time he needs a commercial break from this dad.