Parents Struggle to Find Work/Life Balance, Turning to Digital to Keep Kids Busy

Roughly a third of US parents said working from home while taking care of kids has been one of the biggest challenges they’ve had to face during the pandemic, according to May 2020 data from LendingTree.

Managing their child’s distance learning was another challenge many faced, right there with financial strain and health concerns. Parents will continue to face child care challenges as facilities and schools remain closed and health and safety measures are put in place.

"Parents were already struggling with work/life balance before the pandemic came along, so one could say it's simply taking a different form now," said Mark Dolliver, eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence. "The greater hardship will be for parents who get knocked out of the job market by the COVID-19 recession or who already have been. That burden is likely to fall especially heavily on single parents, widening what's already a wide financial gap between single-parent and two-parent households."

And more are turning to digital during this time. "Lots of parents have routinely used TV and other screens as a kind of babysitter when they need to get something done or simply need a bit of time to themselves," said Dolliver. "It’s inevitable that more of this is going on during the pandemic."

Read More:

• Coronavirus-Forced Distance Learning and How Parents Are Using Digital to Cope
• How Companies Can Set Employees Up for Success When Working from Home
• Toy and Hobby Advertisers Are a Pandemic Bright Spot

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