The Situation of Parents of Small Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Selected Family Practices

Abstract

The theoretical inspiration for this article is D. H. J. Morgan’s theory of family practices. The COVID-19 pandemic affected various spheres of the society, including family practices, which D. H. J. Morgan (2011) defines as everyday processes and activities undertaken by family members. The aim of this article is to present – based on the conducted qualitative research in the form of interviews with mothers of small children – selected family practices that were developed during the pandemic in families raising small children. Parents’ ways of spending time, strategies for sharing household chores, spending more time only as a nuclear family, and loosening contacts with friends will all be discussed. The conducted research has shown that some family practices have been transformed as a result of changes that had been imposed on individuals by external regulations (e.g. regulations regarding subsequent lockdowns – the closure of offices, nurseries, kindergartens, cinemas, theaters, and even forests). On the one hand, closed institutions and remote work meant that parents began to spend more time with their children (or next to their children) while caring for them and performing professional duties at the same time, and some men became more involved in household chores and childcare. On the other hand, partners ceased to be able to leave the house without children, and direct contacts between grandparents and grandchildren were significantly reduced.