What’s it like being a parent during a global health pandemic?
We were in a child care crisis even before COVID-19. First schools closed, now child care facilities are opening with reduced capacity, and parents are facing a summer full of camp closures.
This crisis has hit working parents hard.
Caregivers are working double, even triple shifts keeping households afloat, homeschooling, and trying to stay on top of work responsibilities. The emotional labour of supporting families through a stressful, uncertain time is considerable.
Women already bear the weight of most of the unpaid care and domestic work in Canadian households, and now they make up the majority of people who have lost jobs or hours of work since the COVID-19 crisis began.
We know that working parents are not okay, and the looming threat of a second wave is downright terrifying.
Have you lost work, reduced your hours, or contemplated reducing your hours due to the extra load of balancing home schooling and work expectations? Can you even imagine continuing to work past September if schools remain closed?