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For Christchurch mother Amber Long, parenting locked up was a time of challenging lows and rewarding positive moments.
He initially envisioned days filled with quality family time.
But those hopes were quickly dashed when the Christchurch elementary teacher juggled creating homework for her students and helping their parents with technical difficulties online.
“I was trying to fulfill my work commitment, keeping my 6-year-old busy, it just didn’t work.”
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CHRIS SKELTON / Things
Julius Long with his children William, 6, and Elise, 5. Amber and Julius Long feel that the confinement was a challenge, but some positives came out of it.
Long and her husband, Julius, worked from home during the lockdown and cared for their children William, 6, and Elise, 5.
It was “really challenging,” he said.
“I told my boss that if we went to level 3 it would be better to be in a bubble with the kids at school.”
However, the low moments were mixed with rewarding moments that arose from the extra time she spent with her children.
CHRIS SKELTON / Things
Amber and Julius Long play at home with their children William, 6, and Elise, 5.
The family went for walks and cooked together, and her husband spent time with William working on a science project.
Her daughter’s speech problems greatly improved due to the additional conversation she had with her family.
Her husband’s parents, who had their own bus, were also close by to help with parenting.
A study from the University of Canterbury found that some New Zealand parents were badly burned from the Covid-19 closure, but most felt closer to their children after the experience.
The study, led by lead professor Dr. Cara Swit, surveyed parents as part of a study in 15 countries.
It found that 10.5 percent of New Zealand parents experienced “high levels of parental burnout.”
123RF
Parents who were already struggling prior to confinement had a higher risk of burnout, a study has shown.
This was defined as a combination of chronic stress, burnout, feeling that their parenting had decreased, loss of pleasure or satisfaction in parenting, and emotional distancing from their children.
The study also showed that 83.7 percent of parents reported that Covid-19 has a positive impact on their upbringing.
Any level of parental burnout was “troubling,” so it was important to understand the influences behind the numbers and what could be done, Swit said.
Having independent children helped relieve the stress of closed parenting, which was easier when the children were older and needed less care.
“For example, it helps if they can make a sandwich.”
RNZ
At the end of Alert Level 4, those who lost their jobs were more likely to feel depressed and lonely, and people in essential roles were more stressed and angry.
Those who had negative experiences often felt challenged in those areas before closing.
For example, they could be parents who engaged in violent behavior, did not have paid employment, or lived in relatively disadvantaged neighborhoods, he said.
The high proportion of positive experiences showed that the confinement was not all “pessimism”.
“For some, that forced recess was positive: not having to drop out of school, not having to juggle everything and giving them more quality time with their children,” Swit said.
Other countries in the study ranged from 0.8 percent of severely exhausted parents to 11 or 12 percent.
However, it was difficult to compare because countries had different restrictions.
Unsplash
A correlation was found between children’s independence and the amount of parental stress.
The findings showed that it was necessary to focus on “improving parenting skills” rather than children’s behavior.
“We can develop parenting skills, their emotional regulation skills, their abilities to see the positive in negative situations.”
The study was conducted from April to July 2020 and is part of the International Research on Parental Burnout.
There were 132 Kiwi participants, of whom 87 fully completed the questionnaire.
The study sample was small and would have benefited from greater representation of Maori and Pasifika, but it offered “valuable starting points for further research,” Swit said.
