@article{ref1,
title="Who is watching the children? A quantitative analysis of strategies for reconciling work and parenting during lockdown in northern Italy",
journal="International journal of environmental research and public health",
year="2021",
author="Plagg, Barbara and Flarer, Heidi and Conca, Andreas and Wiedermann, Christian J. and Engl, Adolf and Piccoliori, Giuliano and Mairhofer, Sigrid and Barbieri, Verena and Eisendle, Klaus",
volume="18",
number="21",
pages="e11174-e11174",
abstract="(1) Background: In their efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, most countries closed schools and kindergartens. To date, little is known about the strategies of working families reconciling work and parenting during repeated lockdown situations. (2) Methods: We performed a quantitative survey of working parents in Italy during a week of 'hard lockdown' in February/March 2021. (3) Results: 3725 voluntary adult participants from different households responded. Though officially not allowed, 53.4% of all participants sought help from people outside the nuclear family to bridge the situation, mostly the grandparents (79%; n = 1855). Overall, parental coping strategies included alternating working-childcare-turns with their partner (35%, n = 1316), working early in the morning or during nighttime (23%; n = 850), or leaving the children unattended (25%, n = 929). (4) Conclusions: The closure of schools/kindergartens forcefully shifts the responsibility for childcare onto the nuclear family, where new strategies arose, including health-damaging models of alternating work-childcare-shifts, 'illegal' involvement of third parties from outside the nuclear family, as well as neglect of age-related childcare. Our findings underline that working families need additional support strategies during repeated closure of childcare institutions to be able to reduce contact and minimize secondary damage.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1661-7827",
doi="10.3390/ijerph182111174",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111174"
}