Whether you are a first-time mom, or have 3 lil ones already, parenting during the pandemic has been one of the biggest challenges for parents in the 21st century. Literally having the world shut down due to Covid-19 has affected all aspects of people’s lives including their jobs, schooling, physical health, mental health, personal relationships, as well as their social networks. This is not even considering the significant effects of having Covid-19 itself which could include hospitalization, or in some cases even death.
Even though the world is slowly opening up, I want to share 10 alarming post-pandemic stats for parents to know going into 2021 just how much their lives have changed.
The last pandemic which occurred in 2009-2010 was the influenza A(H1N1) virus which was reported to be a mild virus with 100,000–400,000 deaths in the first year. The most severe pandemic of the 20th century was the Spanish flu with 20-50 million deaths in 1918-1919. Per WHO, in 2020 there has been approximately 2 million worldwide deaths attributed to Covid-19.
Child care costs have gone up 47% for licensed child-care centers and 70% for home-based child care due to the enhanced health and safety guidelines imposed by local and federal agencies. (Center for American Progress)
CDC reports a 50% increase in suspected suicide attempts with teen girls compared to 2019.
During the pandemic, 27% of parents reported their mental health worsening for themselves and 24% of parents reported losing regular child care. (Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics)
Mask wearing can impact an infant’s future neurobehavioral development, for example being able to read the faces of others, reciprocity, imitation skills, and long-term effects can include “difficulties in learning and forming effective relationships later in life.” (NCBI)
In March 2020, the country lost 20.6 million jobs, some 2.6 million will reportedly not resume once the pandemic is over. This more than doubles the jobs lost during the Great Recession in 2007-2009. (CIDRAP)
Per a CDC survey of Americans in August 2020, 40.9% had reported either an adverse mental health or behavior health problem.
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