Parenting during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Portugal: Changes in Daily Routines, Co-Parenting Relationships, Emotional Experiences, and Support Networks

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged parental resources pertinent to coping with lockdowns. The main objective of this work was to study parenting during the COVID-19 lockdown. Specifically at focus were parental behaviors concerning key domains for the family (daily routine, co-parenting, emotional experience, and support network) and changes related to the pandemic and associated with the parents’ employment statuses. An online survey was carried out through an ad hoc questionnaire where participants completed questions about their sociodemographic data and rated how much their family routines, their co-parenting relationship, their emotional experiences, and the support available in the family network varied on a 5-point scale. The participants included 1384 parents, of which 286 responded to open questions regarding impactful experiences during the lockdown. The results showed differences in daily routine, co-parenting, emotional experience, and support network according to the parents’ employment statuses. Between-group comparisons showed that at-home parents caring for children with governmental aids generally revealed more positive parenting behavior changes, while at-home parents who were teleworking reported more difficulties in parent-child activities and co-parenting. Furthermore, the content analysis of the data confirmed how important themes such as family dynamics, professional activities, and the relationship with the school community were throughout the participants’ accounts of gains and losses. Overall, parents’ employment statuses are associated with diverse experiences during lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of family resources and parental resilience, particularly during circumstances jeopardizing the ever-sensitive work-family balance.

Associations of Work-Family Conflict with Family-Specific, Work-Specific, and Well-Being-Related Variables in a Sample of Polish and Ukrainian Adults during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The COVID-19 pandemic also changed the overall work organization and arrangements, accelerating and disrupting various trends in the work area [ 17 ]. In particular, many schools and workplaces were closed during the lockdown, so stationary work was changed to remote online, and working parents were forced to divide their time between caring for children and teleworking [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Experts assumed the transition to telework was one of the essential issues for occupational health during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 26 ].…”

“…For example, a disturbed work-family balance was found among German medical doctors due to insufficient childcare when schools and preschools were closed during the pandemic [ 19 ]. The study among Portuguese-employed parents showed that, dependent on the stationary or online type of work, diverse experiences were reported during the lockdown [ 18 ]. Those working online at home reported higher levels of stress and anxiety and more difficulties in co-parenting than those working stationary (out-of-home) and unemployed.…”

“…Based on previous literature [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], we assume that changes in lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic were stressful events that contributed to the work-family imbalance, leading to high WFC and FWC [ 16 ]. We will examine the differences in WFC, FWC, well-being dimensions, and time pressure across countries, genders, relationship status, parenthood experience, caring for children under 12, and type of work (stationary vs. remote).…”

“…We will examine the differences in WFC, FWC, well-being dimensions, and time pressure across countries, genders, relationship status, parenthood experience, caring for children under 12, and type of work (stationary vs. remote). We hypothesize that higher CWF and worse well-being will be presented in Poland than in Ukraine regarding the individualism-collectivism dimension [ 12 , 13 ], among teleworkers [ 20 , 21 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], women [ 16 , 19 , 23 , 24 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ], coupled individuals, and those having children [ 16 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Inter-group differences in time pressure will be explored for the first time in this study.…”

Diferencias de género en la sobrecarga laboral y el apoyo en la educación remota de la infancia, en personas que trabajan desde casa por la COVID-19

“…Señala De la Cruz (2020) que motivar a los hijos para estudiar en el hogar es un reto de creatividad para las familias, donde también cada uno de sus miembros se desenvuelve en los roles domésticos y laborales. Al respecto Antunes et al, (2021) plantean que los padres y madres han asumido, a la par de continuar trabajando desde casa, la responsabilidad principal de apoyar y educar a los hijos, aun cuando no tengan las condiciones socioeconómicas, culturales o educativas para realizar un apoyo eficiente de las actividades escolares. Como plantea Trejo-Quintana (2020), desde el ámbito público la pandemia ha acentuado los problemas sustanciales de la educación en México que tienen que ver, todavía, con problemas de acceso y oportunidades equitativas a la educación.…”