Children and COVID-19 Research Library

The COVID-19 pandemic is placing considerable demands on parents that amplify the risk of poor parenting. Leveraging an ongoing longitudinal study, the current study tests whether parents’ distress during a mandated lockdown predicts residual changes in poorer parenting and identifies within-family support processes that buffer these harmful effects.

This paper argues that under emergency conditions such as Covid-19, the strategies that the official educational establishment imposed to retain the formal curriculum are unjust. The abnormal educational circumstances require that education prioritise the well-being and safety of schoolchildren. Furthermore, the parental educational role needs to be reimagined for its value in advancing educational goals.

This article draws on recent literature spawned by the Covid-19 outbreak, together with related research studies and a survey of 16 South African families undertaken in April 2020 at the start of the national lockdown. A qualitative case study method was adopted and telephonic interviews conducted with the main caregiver and up to two children in each family in order to understand how learning at home might be promoted.

WHO, UNICEF, the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, the United States Agency for International Development USAID, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Parenting for Lifelong Health, and the UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund Accelerating Achievement for Africa's Adolescents Hub are collaborating to provide openaccess online parenting resources during COVID-19.
These resources focus on concrete tips to build positive relationships, divert and manage bad behaviour, and manage parenting stress. They are shared through social media, and they are accessible on non-smartphones through the Internet of Good Things. A team of international volunteers are producing translations in 55 languages. Importantly, these parenting resources are based on robust evidence from randomised controlled trials in low-income and middle-income countries.
Find out more here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30736-4/fulltext#coronavirus-linkback-header