Who Is Watching the Children? A Quantitative Analysis of Strategies for Reconciling Work and Parenting during Lockdown in Northern Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 18(21)2021 Oct 24.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1480775
ABSTRACT
(1) Background:
In their efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, most countries closed schools and kindergartens. To date, little is known about the strategies of working families reconciling work and parenting during repeated lockdown situations. (2)Methods:
We performed a quantitative survey of working parents in Italy during a week of 'hard lockdown' in February/March 2021. (3)Results:
3725 voluntary adult participants from different households responded. Though officially not allowed, 53.4% of all participants sought help from people outside the nuclear family to bridge the situation, mostly the grandparents (79%; n = 1855). Overall, parental coping strategies included alternating working-childcare-turns with their partner (35%, n = 1316), working early in the morning or during nighttime (23%; n = 850), or leaving the children unattended (25%, n = 929). (4)Conclusions:
The closure of schools/kindergartens forcefully shifts the responsibility for childcare onto the nuclear family, where new strategies arose, including health-damaging models of alternating work-childcare-shifts, 'illegal' involvement of third parties from outside the nuclear family, as well as neglect of age-related childcare. Our findings underline that working families need additional support strategies during repeated closure of childcare institutions to be able to reduce contact and minimize secondary damage.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Parenting
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph182111174
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