Much of the recent family related news involves the unique challenges parents and co-parents are facing due to the pandemic. Concern over the rise in the number of child marriages in India, and the frightening spike in intimate partner violence in China, are also in the family headlines.
‘Incredibly Scary’: Single Moms Fear Falling Through Holes In Pandemic Safety Net Chris Arnold, NPR, October 26, 2020 “…There are approximately 13.6 million single parents in the U.S., raising 22.4 million children. Eighty percent of those single parents are moms. Women have lost more jobs than men during the recession, and others are quitting their jobs in frustration from the demands of child care.”
Child Marriages Are Up In The Pandemic. Here’s How India Tries To Stop Them Sushmita Pathak, NPR, November 5, 2020 “…there are concerns throughout India – and indeed around the world – that the pandemic is bringing an increase in child marriage. And the numbers are already high: An estimated 1.5 million underage girls in India and 12 million underage girls worldwide get married each year, according to the United Nations, which defines child marriage as “both formal marriages and informal unions in which a girl or boy lives with a partner as if married before the age of 18.”
When Co-Parents Clash in a Pandemic Jill Waldbieser, The New York Times, November 11, 2020 The pandemic and sudden shutdown had effectively stranded parents who were divorced or separated without their usual resource: the legal system.If you and your child’s other parent can’t agree on something, Rebecca Berry, a clinical psychologist at the The Child Study Center at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at N.Y.U. Langone Health, suggested agreeing on what guidelines you’ll use or which experts you trust to make the decision for you. Dr. Berry also suggested to: “Stay open and be inquisitive. Sometimes if the parent at least feels their perspective is being heard, that can assuage a kneejerk reaction to deny a request.”
‘I Come Up Short Every Day’: Couples Under Strain As Families Are Stuck At Home Rafael Nam, NPR, November 12, 2020 The pandemic has upended many aspects of domestic life, and that has brought new attention to one of the most enduring disparities between men and women — the wide difference in handling housework and child care.
Pandemic Parenting Dani Blum, The New York Times, November 12, 2020 The NYTimes asked parents across the country what parenting has been like for them during the pandemic and how, in their own ways, they have each learned to cope. Theses photographic and written essays tell a powerful story of resilience.
Her Abuse Was a ‘Family Matter,’ Until It Went Live Elsie Chen, The New York Times, November 15, 2020 More than 900 women have died at the hands of their husbands or partners since China’s law against domestic violence was enacted in 2016, according to Beijing Equality, a women’s rights group…The domestic violence law promised police investigations and easier access to restraining orders, but enforcement is spotty and punishments are light in a society that stigmatizes divorce and pressures victims of abuse to keep silent.