Parenting during Covid-19: The Experiences of Parents

The lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected the social lives of the vast majority of the population. Lithuanians reported that this situation significantly affected their leisure time, work and financial situation, and studies – with 27.0% of respondents to a representative survey reporting that their family life has changed. COVID-19 and the associated lockdown brought about changes to the lives of families. According to family resilience theories, the balance of a family’s daily functioning is disturbed when situational requirements outweigh family resources and opportunities – a phenomenon which, it is generally agreed, occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, several studies regarding changes to the daily routines of families were conducted all over the world, including in: Lithuania, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany, the Netherlands, Korea, and India. Whilst various aspects of these changes were investigated in these different studies, they all concluded that families faced new situations and needed to search for a new way to adapt and adjust to a changed reality. As Lee, Chin, and Sung (2020) note, COVID-19 has changed the meaning of home from a place to sleep to a basecamp involving numerous major activities related to work, schooling, parenting, housework, shopping, leisure, and religion. Families have found it challenging to spend intensive time with each other, to share gendered family responsibilities, and to support other families