TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - Who is watching the children? A quantitative analysis of strategies for reconciling work and parenting during lockdown in northern Italy
JO  - International journal of environmental research and public health
A1  - Plagg, Barbara
A1  - Flarer, Heidi
A1  - Conca, Andreas
A1  - Wiedermann, Christian J.
A1  - Engl, Adolf
A1  - Piccoliori, Giuliano
A1  - Mairhofer, Sigrid
A1  - Barbieri, Verena
A1  - Eisendle, Klaus
SP  - e11174
EP  - e11174
VL  - 18
IS  - 21
N2  - (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>
LA  - en
SN  - 1661-7827
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111174
ID  - ref1
ER  -