What impact does the pandemic of the new coronavirus have on 'parents raising children'?

With the pandemic of the new coronavirus, changes such as an increase in remote work and the introduction of distance education are occurring, and parents raising children are experiencing great difficulties. Meanwhile, the results of a Dutch research team investigating 'what happened to parents during a pandemic' were reported in the academic media The Conversation.

COVID Gender (In) equality Survey Netherlands
(PDF file) https://www.uu.nl/sites/default/files/Yerkes%2C%20Mara%20Policybrief%20EN.pdf

Five things we learned about Dutch parents during the pandemic – new research
https://theconversation.com/five-things-we-learned-about-dutch-parents-during-the-pandemic-new-research-151616

In March 2020, the Netherlands, like other European countries, implemented a strict urban blockade as a pandemic measure. Nine months later, in December, the five-week city blockade , including Christmas and New Year's holidays, was reintroduced . A Dutch research team is conducting a follow-up study of Dutch parents with children under the age of 18 to investigate the impact of a pandemic on the parenting generation, and said that five things were found: ..

◆ 1: Working hours are increasing
In June, when the research team conducted a survey, 45% of parents said that their working hours had changed from before the pandemic. Approximately 15% of parents said that they worked shorter than before the pandemic, and 30% said that they worked longer than before the pandemic. Overall, working hours tend to be longer. You can see it. The percentage of workers who answered that they had 'longer working hours' was 36% for essential workers who are indispensable for social management and 25% for non-essential workers, and the working hours of essential workers became longer. It is said that there is.

The Netherlands is also known to have the highest proportion of part-time workers in the developed world, with two-thirds of women and even more mothers working part-time before the pandemic. However, it seems that part-time workers who originally had short working hours did not experience an increase in working hours more than regular employees. 'Pre-pandemic working hours did not affect the likelihood that parents would work long hours,' the research team said, suggesting that the pandemic did not close the gap between father and mother working hours. I will.

◆ 2: Mother's leisure time is decreasing
In a June survey, half of mothers said they had less leisure than before the pandemic, while 31% of fathers did the same. In the April survey, 57% of mothers and 36% of fathers reported a decrease in leisure time, which is better than before, but the decrease in leisure time is still serious.

Research results have also been reported that women have lower leisure time before the pandemic, and that a decrease in leisure time may cause further problems. Leisure is important for physical and mental health, and the research team pointed out that lack of adequate rest can lead to health problems such as burnout .

◆ 3: Increasing quarrels about parenting
There has been an increase in quarrels between parents with the pandemic, with both mothers and fathers reporting that they 'have more quarrels about each other's working hours than before the pandemic.' In addition, after the pandemic, there are increasing quarrels between parents over new parenting methods.

Before the pandemic, 9% of parents said they would have a weekly quarrel about childcare, but in June after the pandemic, it increased to 25%. The increase is staggering, the researchers point out, as elementary schools and daycare centers were already reopening in June.

◆ 4: The role of parents is changing
The pandemic also seems to be changing the division of roles between mothers and fathers, with 31% of fathers saying they 'become more involved in parenting than before the pandemic' in a June survey. In an April survey, 22% of fathers said they 'became more involved in parenting than before the pandemic,' suggesting that the gap between parents is closing over time.

On the other hand, the percentage of parents who answered that 'the division of housework between father and mother is equal' was 32% before the pandemic, 36% in April, and 31% in June. By comparison, the division of housework has not progressed.

◆ 5: Parents are happy with the situation
When the research team asked to evaluate parenting satisfaction on a scale of 1-10, fathers answered 7.4 and mothers 7.1. Also, when asked about the degree of satisfaction with housework, the father answered 7.3 and the mother answered 6.8. Previous studies suggest that the situation that 'mothers consider unfair situations to be fair' is a barrier to reducing gender inequality. As a result, the research team points out that in the current situation where parents are relatively satisfied with the status quo, the gender gap between parents may not be closed.

The pandemic is still ongoing and requires a lot of government and employer support to mitigate the long-term impact of the pandemic on parents' quality of life. The research team argued that helping parents balance work and parenting with carefully designed support measures could help eliminate gender inequality.