New data is showing that families are happier during the lockdown. The data showed that parents reported an improved relationship with their children during the lockdown period.
Data indicating families are happier during the lockdown
A new survey is shedding light on how families were able to go through the coronavirus lockdowns, with data showing an increase in parent-children relationships. The research was conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex and collected data from 5,500 parents.
The research showed that over a quarter of parents interviewed indicating that their relationship with their children had dramatically improved since the lockdown was instituted. The report also showed that only 5 percent of parents who were interviewed said their relationship with their kids had deteriorated. This further confirmed that families are happier during the lockdown.
April lockdown data
Earlier data from the same research group had shown that women were subjected to extra work related to children. This included taking care of the children, who were now studying and staying at home instead of going to schools due to the spread of coronavirus.
The new data on parents’ improved relationship with their children showed that the lockdowns had not broken down relationships between parents and their children, and it had in fact strengthened it. When the initial data was released in April, there were fears that it was negatively affecting the parents-children relationship.
Role women took during the lockdown
Prof Brienna Perelli-Harris from the ESRC Centre for Population Change at the University of Southampton, who was also among the researchers who led the study, together with Sandra Walzenbach from the University of Essex, said that women had become burdened with caring for their children more compared to men. She also said the economic burden across the country significantly affected women more than men.
She continued by saying that although women had been burdened with extra responsibilities during the lockdown period, their family relationships had improved. With only 5 percent reporting that their relationship with their children had deteriorated, Perelli-Harris said it seems that the extra tasks had contributed to these parents getting more closer to their children.
The data also showed that a majority of parents who indicated that the relationship with their children had improved during the lockdown period, they had helped their children in homework. Also, the data showed that nearly 40 percent of parents who had cut their working hours to be with their children reported an increased relationship with their children. Only 6 percent of these parents reported that the relationship with their children had not improved.
Featured image by Pixabay
