Impact of the COVID-19 Quarantine on Young Children’s Family-Based Daily Activities in Greece

Abstract

This study reports on parental perceptions of changes and continuities in young children’s home-based daily activities during the initial COVID-19 quarantine in Greece. Daily activities present significant contexts for children’s learning and development and their continuity in periods of crisis is important for children’s psychological well-being. Existing research worldwide, underscores the changes occurring in families’ daily lives because of the pandemic- imposed restrictions, mostly focusing on their negative impact on family routines and functioning. On the other hand, continuities in children’s everyday activities during the quarantine have been less studied. 116 mothers and fathers, forming a convenience sample, reported on their children’s as well as their own engagement in daily activities with them, before and during the quarantine, using the CDA-PB scale. Results revealed changes in accordance with other research findings on this topic but also continuities in Greek families’ daily activities, which relate to parental values and already established family routines.

Working mothers in Greece during the COVID-19 pandemic: The conceptualization of “good motherhood” in conditions of lock-down and teleworking

“…Since March 2020 when WHO declared the COVID-19 pandemic, this highly contagious virus has had a tremendous impact on global health and well-being (Kira 2021), as it has brought dramatic changes into daily life and negatively affected family routines and functioning (Brown et al, 2020;Panagiotopoulou & Papadopoulou, 2021;Prime et al, 2020;Usher et al, 2020;Zhou, 2020). Women, especially working mothers, suffered the hardest blow.…”