The Challenges of Parenting in time of COVID-19 in Laguna, Dumaguete

City and their Implications to Social Work Practice

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of Social Work 38 – Research II

Submitted to:

Myraluz Waddington

Submitted by:

Chazzie Nore D. Acain, Jehell Bombita, Cedie T. Camba,

Charlene P. Indig, Nickole Florence Inog, Breianah Jare B. Sales,

Precious Cherry Lynn Siglos, & Shairrahbabe Solicar

Silliman University Dumaguete

November 2020
Table of Contents
Title

Chapter I: Problem and its Background

1.1 Background of the Study ………………………………………………… 4

1.2 Statement of the Problem ………………………………………………… 5

1.3 Significance of the Study ……………………………………………….... 6

1.4 Scope and Limitations …………………………………………………… 7

1.5 Definition of Terms ……………………………………………………… 8

Chapter II: Review of Related Literature

2.1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………… 8

2.2 Review Related Literature ……………………………………………….. 9

2.3 Schematic Diagram of Theoretical Framework ………………………….

3.4 Conceptual Framework ……………………………………………......... 20

Chapter III: Methodology

3.1 Research Design

3.2 Research Environment

3.3 Participants of the Study

3.4 Sample and Sampling Procedure

3.5 Research Instrument

3.6 Data Collection Procedure

3.7 Data Analysis Procedure

Chapter IV: Data Analysis

4.1 Demographic Profile

4.2 Qualitative Data Summary

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Chapter V: Summary, Conclusion, & Recommendation

5.1 Summary

5.2 Conclusion

5.3 Recommendation

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 Abstract

While it is true that COVID-19 has affected everyone, this paper tackles how this health crisis

we are experiencing today is affecting specifically the parents in Laguna, Dumaguete City.

Parenting is always a struggle but especially in these trying times, it became even harder.

This paper explains the challenges encountered by parents that made them adapt to

authoritative style of parenting, how the COVID-19 pandemic affected them as a parent, how

they cope up with the situation, and what the government can do to help the parents. You can

also see in this paper the similarities relating to the previous pandemics and today’s pandemic

particularly how it affected both parents and children.

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 Chapter I: Problem and its Background

1.1 Background of the Study

As we experience nowadays the trials brought by the COVID – 19 pandemic, have

you ever wondered about the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic to the parents

especially in child-rearing? Or perhaps you are also a parent who experienced these

challenges and wondered how you can cope up in this situation? Front-liners such as health

workers, educators, police officers, government officials, social workers and other

professions that are the main forces during the experienced COVID-19 pandemic today are

also trying hard to do their utmost effort in alleviating the situation but that doesn’t mean they

are not struggling. What about the struggles of those who are both frontline workers and

parents? According to helpguide.org, “Parenting has always been tough, but home schooling,

working from home, and all the financial uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 has made it

even tougher…”

Before we proceed, let us first know more about what COVID – 19 or Corona Virus

Disease – 19 is. According to who.int, “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious

disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.

Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate

respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those

with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory

disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness…”

“…The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the

nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice

respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).”

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 Around the month of January year 2020, Philippines was alarmed by this frightening

infectious disease. Upon knowing less about the said virus, people were panic buying and

hoarding stuff to the point that hand sanitizers, hand soaps, and other necessities, to avoid the

virus, all ran out of stock in the blink of an eye. After weeks, the government issued a

lockdown to most of the islands in the Philippines or placed them under quarantine and thus,

starts the challenges experienced by parents.

Since the start of lockdown and/or quarantine to many places in the Philippines, as

playful as the children’s nature can be, most of them are anxious to stay at home most of the

time especially if they are children from less fortunate families who are unable to buy gadgets

for entertainment. Especially in this kind of situation, the parents are challenged as to how

they can keep their children entertained at home, how they can make them understand the

seriousness of the situation, and even helping their children with their online or classes in

modular form.

As we tackle the challenges of child-rearing for parents in time of the COVID-19

pandemic, we will also explore and integrate in this research study the challenges’

implications to social work practice.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Determining the challenges of child-rearing for parents in times of the COVID – 19

pandemic because we need to understand how the parents cope up with the situation, how

they find solutions when confronted by the threats of the said virus, and how they are able to

take care of their children in this challenging times. Parents are multi-taskers – they can be a

worker and a parent at the same time especially if they are single mothers or single fathers

but whatever the case, they can also be considered front-liners because let us all admit it,

parenting is no easy task even before the COVID-19 pandemic threat. We’ve also

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incorporated in this study the possible programs or benefits the government has to offer to

alleviate the distress and somehow combat the confronting issues regarding the COVID-19

pandemic as parents.

The study aims to answer specifically the following questions:

1. What are the challenges parents encountered about child-rearing during the

COVID-19 pandemic?

2. How do parents cope up with the challenges about child-rearing during the

COVID-19 pandemic?

3. What program/s or help can the parents seek out or avail from the government

about child-rearing during the COVID-19 pandemic?

1.3 Significance of the Study

This study will be of significance to the Philippines specifically to the sector of the

government of the Philippines under the field of Social Work. The parents, social workers,

students, and the future researchers can also benefit from this study.

The Government

This study is to help the Government of the Philippines specifically under the field of

Social Work. It will guarantee them knowledge and understanding on the challenges parents

face in term of child-rearing in difficult situations. Agencies, departments, and/or other

organizations that are in connection to parents can be improved through this study.

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The Parents

The parents will especially benefit from this study. It will guarantee them knowledge

on child-rearing in terms of difficult situations, what to do, and to whom they could ask help

about it.

The Social Workers

The social workers can also benefit from this study. It will help them guide and

understand from the perspectives of the parents in child-rearing, for their future parent

clients, and can also impart in improving agencies that can help them.

The Students

The students will also have an advantage from this study. They will gain more

knowledge about child-rearing and its challenges during the time of COVID-19.

The Future Researchers

This study can be also beneficial to the future researchers. That they can make this

study as a guide or references for their future studies.

1.4 Scope and Limitations

This study will only focus on the challenges of child-rearing for parents living in

Laguna, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. This study is not a representation of all parents in

living in Laguna, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental and should not be used to make a

generalization of all parents.

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 (Process) The making of the research proposal, survey questions, interview questions,

collecting data from the respondents and the analyzation of data took (how many months) to

complete the study. And this study only used survey questions and interview questions as

their only resources to collect the data needed.

1.5 Definition of Terms

Child Rearing - The term child rearing refers to the process used to bring up a child from

birth through adulthood. (https://www.tuw.edu/school-news/what-is-child-rearing/)

Parenting - the raising of children and all the responsibilities and activities that

are involved in it. (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/parenting)

Pandemic - A pandemic is defined as “an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide

area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people”

(https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/7/11-088815/en/#:~:text=A%20pandemic%20is

%20defined%20as,are%20not%20considered%20pandemics)

Parenting Styles -

Chapter II: Review of Related Literature

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 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a big impact to our societies, especially to the

parents. Nowadays, they are facing a lot of struggles for their children. One reason is the

financial instability – they are struggling to provide for their children, and it is said to be true

because some parents lost their job due to the pandemic. Parents are also mentally and

emotionally exhausted because they can’t stop themselves from thinking and worrying about

the struggles during this challenging times. As the pandemic drags on, the burden of

household and professional work continues to increase and parents are neglecting their

normal daily routines resulting in haphazard habits that can be followed by children too. It

has become especially difficult for parents to maintain a strict routine for their children, with

fixed time for meals, studying and sleeping. While children are strictly prohibited from going

out freely, they are unable to meet their friends and socialize, play outdoors or enjoy

travelling from places to places. As a result, this made them feel stressed, bored, and usually

misbehaves as a way to vent out their frustrations. It is indeed difficult for parents to handle

their children in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic even so, it is imperative to find a way

to adjust and cope with this situation. Since schools are closed especially here in the

Philippines, parents of young children are having a tough time keeping them engaged in

meaningful activities. Davis (2020) states that, stressing about finances and job prospects are

top of mind for parents who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, and concern for the well-

being of older loved ones. Parents may find working remotely brings its own level of stress

when setting up children with daily activities, their school works and all the household chores

that must be done, while also trying to stay calm and support their children emotionally.

While these are the realities of today, let us see other pandemics that happened before and the

challenges parents encountered along with it.

Firstly, is the global threat of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection. According to a report

published by the Brazilian branch of Save the Children, microcephaly cases in the Americas

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were exceptionally rare, at only about two (2) to twelve (12) babies per ten thousand (10,

000) born with the condition from 2010 to 2014. After the Zika virus outbreak, the numbers

jumped exponentially, with 1, 835 cases of confirmed like-associated microcephaly cases

being reported from Brazil alone, in just one year (2016).

More than microcephaly, children affected by the Zika infection in the womb may

have a higher risk of acquiring developmental disorders, such as ADHD, or

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Snyder-Keller, et al., 2019). Furthermore, even if

children do not display symptoms as they are born, they have a high tendency of developing

zika-related issues as they grow (Huang, 2019).

These issues cause critical concern for any parent. Jenzer (2016) reports such

challenges faced by two kinds of parents in Brazil.

 Psychosocial distress

More than physical disorders, the outcomes of the Zika virus also cause psychological and

social distress for both parent and child.

Psychologically, microcephaly alone is enough of a challenge, as it can affect the

development of intellectual, social, motor, and even language capabilities of the child

(NationwideChildrens.org, 2018), not to mention the previously stated possible

developmental disorders.

More than that, there are also social stigmas attached to the effects of zika. Save the

Children’s (2016) brief reported stigma in the form of ostracization and isolation. Mothers are

more likely to hide the heads of their affected children to avoid questions and scrutiny, and

expecting mothers become more distressed during the pregnancy.

 Socio-economic

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The United Nations Development Program (2017) published a report that concluded that the

epidemic will incur high financial costs, not just on individuals but also in countries. A child

who has been born with the effects of the Zika virus will need constant attention, decreasing

the parent’s ability to work for their financial needs. More than that, the children will also

need to be frequently checked by a team of medical experts to ensure survival, depleting the

parent’s already-stressed resources (Jenzer, 2016).”

With that problem, parents and soon to be parents were faced with the challenge on

what they could do to protect their children or for their unborn child from the threat of the

Zika Virus Infection.

Another pandemic that parents faced before was the HIV/AIDS. An article by Sun et

al. (n.d.) said that this HIV/AIDS has been a very serious disease that a lot of people

particularly in some parts of china are experiencing and having a real struggle to overcome it.

The article shows how HIV affect them as a person, parents and also as how it affected the

behavior of their child. arents who are infected with HIV are experiencing mental problem

such as depression and also some physical problems. Some also encountered discriminations,

bullying and some even ended up getting fired in their jobs because of the situation they are

in and there are also parents struggling to find a job because of their poor physical health due

to the virus, which causes the caregivers to experience stress and can somehow lead to

depression which will affect to their parenting role having such virus while doing your role as

a parent is really challenging because aside from having poor physical health, mental health

you also have to face the economic hardships from drug maintenance to basic needs like food

and shelter, education for your children their needs etc. as parents you need to work harder to

sustain it but having an economy that health matters is a real struggle to survive as an

HIV/AIDS parent.

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 The effect of HIV/AIDS in parenting causes a lot of problems in the behavior of their

children. Another issue of a parent infected with HIV is that children are often born and grow

up in situations that can interfere with parent–child attachment, which can have potentially

long-term psychological consequences. The study says that parents who are infected with

HIV has poor relationship with their children specially in terms of monitoring their behaviors

than those parents that are not infected by HIV. As parents, one of its role is to monitor the

behavior of its child throughout growing stage and having such virus would be a burden in

doing your job as parent particularly as a mother where your role is to help your child with

her/his behavior, poor monitoring of children’s behavior may put their children’s into

developmental challenges, emotional and mental problems. Due to lack of parenting

monitoring children may also put into dangers such as drugs, alcoholism, and school drop-out

and has possibility that they may perform some deviant act. Therefore, this HIV/AIDS has a

very serious effect in terms of parenting for it leads into poor behavior of a child that may

somehow affect their performance or role in the society.

Another challenge for parents in times of pandemic is their children’s education.

COVID-19 has caused students to stay at home and adapt to alternative learning such as via

online classes, modular, or blended learning especially in the Philippines. According to

mb.com.ph, “Since face-to-face classes are not yet allowed, the DepEd will implement

Blended/Distance learning wherein the combination of the various distance learning

modalities such as printed modules, offline digital modules, online, and TV and Radio-based

instruction will be used by students and teachers when classes formally start” While this is

true, parents continue to face worries. Article from helpguide.org states that, “With many

schools and workplaces closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, many of us have found

ourselves dealing with a new, and often very stressful, family situation. As well as having to

work from home and run the household, you’re likely also trying to keep your kids on track

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with their virtual school work—all while enduring the restrictions of social distancing and

even being cut off from the support of friends and loved ones. With the whole family often

occupying the same space day after day, the strain can seem unrelenting. If you or your

spouse have been furloughed or lost your source of income, the financial pressure can add

even more stress. Left unchecked, that can be a recipe for burnout.” So can a 104 years old

outbreak have the same concern? A recent study from link.springer.com explains how the

same as the COVID-19 pandemic in mid 2020, the polio epidemic of 1916 prompted extreme

interruptions in essentially all parts of life and one is the instructive achievement of the kids:

“We influence the biggest polio episode in US history, the 1916 polio pandemic, to

concentrate what pestilence related school interferences mean for instructive fulfillment. The

polio pandemic influenced the educational attainment of the children in two ways. To begin

with, contaminated kids may have missed school during the time of their sickness and

recuperation. Second, even youngsters who didn't have manifestations missed school during

times of conclusion or in light of the fact that their folks wouldn't send them to class.”

Even though there are no alternative learning yet that time, both health related crisis

(COVID-19 and Polio pandemic) is affecting the educational attainment of the students or

children in many ways. In fact, COVID-19 and Polio pandemic has caused many students to

drop from school because parents feared for their children’s safety and health (aside from

income generation problem).

Since children are what makes someone a parent, some wonder how a parent should

act in times of pandemic. The study from the book Journal of Anxiety Disorders, “The Fear

of Swine Flu Questionnaire (FSFQ) was construed for the purpose of the present study to

measure children's fears in relation to the Swine Flu. The scale consists of 12 items (e.g.,

“Would you be scared if you had the Swine Flu?”, “Are you more afraid to become ill since

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the outbreak of the Swine Flu?”, “Would you be scared if someone you know would have the

Swine Flu?”), which have to be answered on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = not true,

2 = somewhat true, 3 = true, 4 = very true). A total FSFQ-C score (Cronbach's alpha = 0.81)

can be computed (range 12–48), with a higher score indicating a higher level of fear of the

Swine Flu.”; “Parents also completed the FSFQ to measure their own fears in relation to the

Swine Flu (range 13–53; Cronbach's alpha = 0.87 for fathers and 0.89 for mothers), the five

items of the FSSC-R as an index of their general fear level of medical affairs (range 5–15;

Cronbach's alpha = 0.60 for fathers and 0.69 for mothers), and the 4 SISFS items referring to

the provision of threatening information about the Swine Flu to their child (which were of

course formulated from the parents’ perspective; e.g., “I warn my child about the Swine flu”;

range 4–16; Cronbach's alpha = 0.82 for fathers and 0.84 for mothers). Scores will be labeled

as father's threat information in case these items were completed by the father, and as

mother's threat information when items were completed by the mother.”

Parent’s play major role to their children and what they do or say in front of them can

be influenced. According to sciencedirect.com, “Results demonstrated that kids' fear of the

Swine Flu was fundamentally identified with guardians' fear of this sickness. It was

discovered that parent's transmission of danger data was emphatically connected with kids'

fear and that this connection stayed huge while controlling for different wellsprings of data

(i.e., media, companions, and school) or direct involvement in the illness.

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 Schematic Diagram of Theoretical Framework

Fig. # 1 Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Theory

As to know the changes of the parents in terms of parenting due to the occurrence of

COVID-19 pandemic, this theory will explain different types of parenting styles and of

course will later explore how a parent’s parenting style shifted from one style to another

because of the challenges brought by the pandemic. Continuing, this theory talked about the

four types of parenting styles that has been developed by Diana Baumrind and expanded by

Maccoby and Martin. These are the Authoritative, Authoritarian (or Disciplinarian),

Permissive (or Indulgent), Neglectful (or Uninvolved). In authoritative parenting, parents set

rules and boundaries by having open discussion, providing guidance and using reasoning.

Authoritarian parents demand blind obedience, they only allow one-way communication

because if you dare to reason with them it will be viewed as talkback or disrespect. In

permissive parenting (Indulgent) parents set very few rules and boundaries and they are

unwilling to enforce rules. In Neglectful Parenting (Uninvolved) parents do not set

boundaries or any high standards, they are not concern and uninvolved with their children’s

lives.

The claim of this theory is relevant into the subject of our topic since there a lot of

things that needs to be considered to be effective in parenting. The theory is talking about

different types of parenting and which one is the most effective according to the decades of

study. However, in the context of the parents in the midst of the pandemic this may hit

different because there are challenges that needs to be considered, like the loss of jobs and

mental strains that has been caused by the pandemic, consequently unable to provide

children’s needs. Thus, the event or the pandemic impaired the social functioning as a

parent’s and it affects the entire family. Financial issues may arise, and causes stress for the

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parents as a result it develops mood issues and problems in terms of handling emotions.

Therefore, the parent’s parenting styles are affected, they may become Authoritative,

Authoritarian, Permissive, Neglectful because of the event or pandemic. For instance,

because of COVID-19, parents with authoritarian style of parenting may become neglectful.

Authoritative

COVID-19
TYPES OF Authoritarian PARENTING
PANDEMIC
PARENTING
CHALLENGES

Permissive

Neglectful

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 Conceptual Framework

Fig. #2

In our conceptual framework, the independent variable is the COVID-19 pandemic

and the dependent variable is parenting. Parenting cannot affect the pandemic but pandemic

on the other hand can affect how parents take care of their child/children. To sum it up, the

challenges brought by the pandemic can affect the parenting style of the parents’ reason why

parenting is a dependent variable.

COVID-19
CHALLENGES PARENTING
PANDEMIC

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 CHAPTER III: Research Methodology

3.1 Research Design

This study utilized a quantitative-qualitative-descriptive research design.

3.2 Research Environment

The locale of the study is in Barangay Laguna of Dumaguete City.

3.3 Participants of the Study

The participants of the study are the 50 parents of any gender in Laguna, Dumaguete

City which they will be given a questionnaire with their permission and answer the survey

truthfully.

3.4 Sample and Sampling Procedure

We (researchers) used convenient sampling wherein 20% of the total population

(where there are parents) of Laguna Dumaguete City served as the respondents in their

convenient time.

3.5 Research Instrument

This study utilized a quantitative-qualitative research, descriptive type, and uses a

survey method that collects data about, “The Challenges of Parenting in time of COVID-19

in Laguna, Dumaguete City and their Implications to Social Work Practice”. The questions

are composed of determining its demographic profile as to collect data of the participants and

open-ended questions as a response as a guide to determine the challenges of parents

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(parenting) in line of COVID-19 pandemic. The interviews will be recorded to preserve the

information avoiding distortion of what the respondent shared.

3.6 Data Collection Procedure

Once approval is acquired, the researchers will immediately conduct the collecting of

data for one to two (1-2) weeks from a conveniently available pool of respondents (parents)

in Laguna which is called the convenience sampling but before the respondents will begin to

answer the survey or the inquiry from us, the researchers, we will clearly explain the aims of

the questionnaire and consoles that their answers will be kept private just be utilized for

research purposes.

3.7 Data Analysis Procedure

Once data is collected, descriptive data analysis will be used to summarize the

information gathered. The collection of data will be based on the opinions, behavior or

knowledge of the participants that would also supply necessary information that will answer

on what are the challenges of parents in parenting during COVID-19.

3.8 Ethical Considerations

In collecting data from the residents of Laguna, Dumaguete City, we will exercise the

following ethical considerations,

1. Informed Consent

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 Which means that we will inform the participants what our research is all

about, how and for what we are going to use it for, or generally the purpose of the

study.

2. Voluntary Participation

We will not forcefully make anyone participate in answering the

questionnaire.

3. Exercising Confidentiality

All information or data collected will not be available to anyone besides the

researchers.

4. Topic Focused

The study conducted will not stray from its purpose and will prove useful for

the readers.

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 CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, & INTERPRETATION OF DATA

In this part of our research, you can see a summarized collection of the respondents’
demographic profile in the table shown below.

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 Table 1. Demographic Profile

Respondents 1 2 3 4

Age 33 40 37 29

Sex F F M F

No. of Children 3 4 2 2

Age/s 11 (S) 21 (W) 8 (S) 7 (S)

9 (S) 19 (W) 6 (S) 4 (T)

5 (T) 17 (S)
16 (S)

Working economically Yes Yes Yes Yes

Occupation Nurse Carinderia Helper Architect Street Vendor

(cooking and
selling banana
cue)

Average family income P36,000 P15,000 P55,000 P6,000

per month

Average family P30,000 P15,000 P30,000 P 6,000

expenses per month

Place (renting/own the Renting Renting Own the house Living with
house/living with parents
parents)

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Note: If S(student)/W(working)/ T(toddler)

There are four respondents in total and out of them, 3 are women and 1 man whose

ages are from 29-40. They all work economically wherein 2 of them are in a formal work

while the other 2 are in an informal work. Amongst those parents who are in an informal

work, one respondent answered that their family’s total or average income and expenses per

month is P6,000.00 which means that how much they earn is also how much they spend, the

same as the other respondent which also mentioned how they earned P15,000.00 every month

and also spend the same amount. Compared to the other two respondents which are in a

formal work, one has an average family income of P36,000.00 and spend P30,000.00, the

other also has a family income of P55,000.00 and spend a total of P30,000.00 per month. All

of them has children and in general there are 8 are students, 2 are working and 1 is still in

their under-school age (toddler). Regarding the place where the parents are staying, 2 of them

mentioned that they are renting, 1 owned the house and 1 is living with their parents. They all

manage to supply the needs of their family.

COVID-19’s impact to parenting

From the data we have gathered the problem encountered by the parents during this

pandemic are, limitation to travel locally especially for the senior citizens, decrease of their

salary and increase of inflation that gives the parent hard time paying for the rent of the

house, salary for helper, and bills, low generating income because there is only a few who

buys their products, the parent doesn’t have a permanent job and of course, the most

challenging is how they can control their children to prevent them from contracting COVID-

19 while also maintaining they studies.

Effects to parenting

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 On what the four (4) respondents shared about the effects of the problems

encountered during the health crisis experienced today, the main effect of this to their

parenting is them becoming strict especially in terms of their children's freedom to go outside

of the house. In addition, it has found out that the majority of their answers are mainly

concerning about the threat of the virus. Thus, the parents are getting anxious about their kids

being in contact or will be exposed by the said virus.

The other raising issues and concern of the parents that have been commonly shared

by them is in regards with their child’s EDUCATION. The majority of their children are

enrolled in online class and modular, some may have the access of the internet and have the

computers, and unfortunately some may not. The other raising concern of the parents would

be the health of their children, because they are on online class meaning they’re spending so

much time in using computers and they’re afraid that it could damage their children’s

eyesight. In relation to online class, it is given that a child would use a computer or will

expose to World Wide Web, a parent shared one of his experience that he caught one of his

eldest son where he accessed from the internet which is not supposed to be for children,

because of that it makes them uneasy because their child could access to some videos that is

not related to studies nor to its age. In addition, the other raising concern of the parent’s that

is related to their child’s education would be their children’s attitude towards their study

because their child seems not so serious about it, and even prioritizing the things that is not

related in studies, as a result it makes them frustrated because the child is very outgoing and

tend not to finish his school works.

The other concern of the parents would be their child’s bad attitude, one of the parents

shared that his 17 years old son is very stubborn, not even helping in their household chores

and tend to be an outgoing person instead of staying at home. With that being said, it raised a

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concern on the side of the parent in question because she is afraid that their child will get

influenced, for instance, by people who engages into substance abuse.

Challenges encountered

From the data that we have gathered, we have seen that parents are not just

experiencing work stress but also parenting stress. Their common answers are that their

children become hard headed, disobedient and lack of face-to-face interaction. Due to the

online setting, they said that it is challenging for them as parents especially in controlling the

activities of their children. They sometimes use online classes as an excuse to go to the

internet café and play games or browse social media. The parents are also worried about the

fact that social media might show inappropriate images or videos that their children are not

allowed to see.

Coping up with the problem

According to the respondents about their problems as parenthood on how they cope

during these times of pandemic, most of them have common answers that they did their best

as parents even though their children became hard headed. Two parents shared that it is

helpful having an elder brother or sister at home to supervise their children who were left at

home. In these hard times teamwork is much needed within their families. Anyhow, they still

try their best to emerge stronger for their children.

Programs that can help parents during COVID-19 pandemic

Our survey shows how most individuals who partook in the question "Do you know

of any programs that could help you as a parent during this time?" believed that there was

little to no trace of government efforts to aid parents in this pandemic. This shows how

parents had little to no awareness of the different government incentives that play a huge role

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in this pandemic. Probably in this instance, they couldn't pinpoint government efforts that

focus on parents since there are different programs and affiliations that the government

prioritizes more—things such as livelihood programs, Frontline assistance, and COVID-19

rescue funds. Secondly, there was also a concern on the closing of day-care centers which are

crucial for mothers in their nursing stage. One respondent attest how she couldn't see visceral

traces of the government providing assistance to the mother since there were no day-care

centers that were readily available for them to use. This goes to show how it is essential to

keep services that assists parental care for their children.

Out of the four respondents, all of them had their own version of conceding the

absence of the government in terms of parental supervision. Out of pure frustration and

confusion, these parents believed that there were no external efforts to provide them with

necessities a parent would need in this pandemic. A government’s assistance is ultimately

essential in times where livelihood systems and functions of commerce are heavily disrupted.

These individuals are in dire need of support since their basic needs have been hampered by

this pandemic. Things such as day-care centers, tuition fee cuts, and price decreases are

viable government projects to support these people as they survive throughout this pandemic.

Government’s course of action to aid parents during the COVID-19 pandemic

When it comes to the efforts of the government in intervening on parental direction,

there is a recurring request for the state to extend different forms of help and benefits to our

respondents. Firstly, on the education sector. The certainty of our citizens losing some of

their financial foothold in the time of this pandemic is inevitable. Characterized by minimum

wages and the inability to support essential functions and needs, it would be reasonable

enough for these respondents to demand increased government funds and incentives. Because

of the online platform our children's education is being supplied in, there is a call for help

from these respondents to provide the technological needs of their kids as they take part in

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distance learning—things such as a stable wireless fidelity connection and access to devices

that could aid them in such. Secondly, apart from the learning devices, parents opt to request

government funding in the form of "ayuda" or cash incentives and tax exemptions that can

help them accommodate their household needs. This marginal excess of money can serve a

massive difference for people unable to place food on the table three times a day due to this

pandemic. Our surveys show that apart from their initial occupation, most of our families are

hugely dependent on government efforts to keep them afloat in this time of need. Their

requests command the government to be more reactive in this time of need. Lastly, some of

our respondents also ask for government help by providing teaching personnel that could

keep our children off the street. Despite the distance learning platform right now, one parent

quotes, "We need to keep our children off the street to avoid virus transmission by

introducing teaching personnel that can still assist the children with his educational needs and

guidance." Overall, these are the ranges of their requests from the question, "What can the

government do to help parents."

The following are the answers: Wifi assistance, tax exemption or cut, teaching personnels to

keep children off the street, and cash incentives and assistance.

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 CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, & RECOMMENDATION

This study explains and identifies the challenges of parents in regards to child-rearing

during the COVID – 19 pandemic. The pandemic has been active for more than a year

already and the respondents whom are parents of this study explains that they have a hard

time balancing on making some income for the family in order to survive the pandemic and

taking care of their children at home focusing on disciplining them and their studies. The

parents has been even stricter especially when it comes to their children going out of the

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house and interacting with other children because the virus scares them the most that it might

infect their children as well which could even lead to a bigger problem. In order for the

parents to cope up with the challenges especially in handling with their children, they make

new rules to the children, give rewards like money when they accomplish something and asks

help from others in their studies. In short, they interact with them as much as possible in

order for them to disciple their children right. According to the respondents of this study,

there has not been any programs provided from the government that relates to parenting but it

would be nice if the government could provide free computers and Wi-Fi for the studies of

children, “ayuda” or money for the sustainability, lowers taxes, and/or having barangay

police officers that roams around the barangay to stop children playing or going out of the

streets.

Conclusion

Parents mostly have encountered a whole new lot of challenges in this time where

there is the confronting threat of COVID-19. Restating the facts in our review of related

literature, the pandemic before also causes a lot of disturbing challenges to parents and their

children wherein both of them struggle for their survival’s sake. Basing on what we found on

our research includes that the most challenging part as a parent encountered today are how

they can protect their children from the virus and how to balance their children’s autonomy to

play and enjoy themselves while also answering their modules. Because of the said

pandemic, parents changed their styles of how they handle and deal with their children as a

way to protect them. In the same sense, Diana Baumrind’s 4 styles of parenting theory

discussed how parents can become authoritative, authoritarian (disciplinarian), permissive

(indulgent), and/or neglectful (uninvolved). Indeed, the findings of our research shows that

the parents became authoritative in these challenging times. They became stricter especially

when setting rules but they also maintain to stay warm - letting their children understand that

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what they are doing is for their own well-being and made them feel their love and care for

them. Anyhow, having a family member who helps them take care of their children at home

especially if the parents are away for work, aided them to cope up with the situation.

Recommendations

In connection to the mentioned findings, despite the fact that some parents have

informal work and even lost their income generating means in today’s health crisis, there is in

no such need to argue that the government in its own ability should hear the plea of the

parents and somehow lessen their baggage especially in these trying times. It is important to

make sure that everyone hears what the government offers as aid most especially to those

families who are less fortunate and of course avail the said aid.

Bibliography

A. On Line References:

Problem and its background:

https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1

Review of Related Literature:

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618510002264

https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-016-0660-0

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540121.2013.825368

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11329645/

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