There is no doubt that the coronavirus came to drastically change our lives, completely transforming the routine of all families, the way we work and, mainly, the way we relate to other people.
Due to this pandemic, fathers and mothers who worked outside the home began to do home offices and according to a report, in the case of fathers this helped them to have a closer relationship with their children .
The report
Titled ” How the pandemic has strengthened the relationships of parents with their children, ” the report signed by researchers from Harvard University shows the results of a survey carried out during the summer, about the changes in parent-child relationships derived from quarantine .
Although previous studies have found that current parents spend more time with their children compared to previous generations, the truth is that they are still the ones who generally spend more time away from home , while the mother – whether she works outside the home or not – continues being the one who spends more time with the children.
But all this changed with the arrival of the coronavirus. Fathers and mothers adopted teleworking and with schools closed, the children returned home . All together they remained locked up in quarantine (and continue to remain in some countries) to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
It is natural that confinement changed the relationship we all had, and by spending the whole day together, it did it in a great way between mothers, fathers and children . Some things got complicated, like trying to balance work with our responsibilities as parents, but there were also positive consequences.
According to the report, the results of a first survey showed that 68% of parents feel closer to their children since the pandemic . In a second survey, they delved a bit more into how they had identified that closeness:
- 52% of parents reported that their children talked more frequently with them about the things that were most important to them, while 46% did so with the things that are somewhat important.
- 51% commented that they are getting to know their children better, and 46% think that their children are getting to know them better.
- 57% of parents reported appreciating their children more, while 43% feel that their children appreciate them more.
- 43% of parents have discovered that they share new interests with their children, while 51% comment that they are doing more activities with their children, in which the children are interested.
- 54% of parents report paying more attention to their children’s feelings, while 35% feel that their children pay more attention to their feelings.
- 53% say that their children share more about their feelings and perspectives, while 50% of parents report that they themselves are sharing more about their feelings and perspectives with their children.
The report includes some testimonies from the parents surveyed, who comment that being at home has helped them to spend more quality time together and also that the situation has helped them to appreciate each other more and improve their communication.
The researchers explain that although this is one of the positive sides of the pandemic, it is to be expected that our time together will be reduced again when we finally return to normal, but that it is important to do everything possible to maintain any ritual or family tradition that came up during this time , be it family walks, movie nights, or new hobbies you have found together.
Photo | iStock
Via | Harvard
In Babies and more | The positive side of quarantine: valuing the time with our children and other important lessons that it leaves us, The mental burden of parents during the quarantine: why we feel exhausted and what we can do to alleviate it
