Holley sixth-grader says Covid-19 pandemic having impact on families in many ways

Editor:

The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting families on many fronts.

• The Financial Downfall

The pandemic has caused a lot of people to lose their jobs. Some homes that had more than one income either went down to one or none. There are families that had or have to apply for government funding to help make ends meet like food stamps, cash assistance and or medical coverage that before were living fine prior to Covid-19 leaving many American homes with desperation and the feeling of losing it all.

This has caused many families prides to be affected. More adults are fighting over how they are going to make ends meet because either they were struggling before and or are struggling more.

• Emotional Shifts Among Children

Children are being affected by this pandemic because there is no social contact among family and friends. No school to let learning be taught properly except through social media platforms or a worldwide use app called ZOOM. At times it is not as effective as classroom learning because communication can be rough. Some homes do not have a strong Wi-Fi connection causing the feed to come back lagged or delayed, there is not an option to just focus on the teacher so your concentration is divided among other students that are attending the group. Children no longer go outside to play to let off some energy and are stuck at home doing the same thing over and over again, this is causing a high increase in young children and adolescent depression. Even morphing children to copycat anti-social behaviors.

• A Family Affair

This pandemic can have either a positive or negative effect on families. In some cases, there is no escape from each other. Most apartments and homes are single floor living quarters, where rooms are limited to as few as a 1 bedroom or to a five-room home. Due to the lack of space families are becoming more hostile. On the other hand, if you are lucky or fortunate to have a multi-level or more rooms plus a backyard then you can say you are better off than the average Joe because you are not always starring at one another for hours on end.

Wearing masks everywhere you go, consistently wearing gloves and using hand sanitizer has become the new norm for most families. This sad crisis has brought most families closer in everyday living.

The new age of living has learned to adapt old style living. Families have become more creative in daily living, moms are learning how to sew, more and more parents are learning to cook, or more home cooked meals are being made.

Faith in homes are probably being practiced more in homes if it wasn’t being done before. Like my mother keeps saying, “things are going back to how they used to be when my parents and their parents’ parents and even when I was growing up were!!!”

• A Mother’s Concern

On a most recent interview I had with Ms. Doris Llorens, a mother of three, when asked a series of questions she sincerely expressed her concerns and living adjustments to this pandemic. Ms. Llorens stated, “What scares me the most is the what ifs and the not knowing. For example, what if I or my children contract this virus? My kids need me, and I need them, so I try to think positive for the most part. We limit our travel to necessities only.” She began to express her concerns about her children’s attitude on the “Stay at Home” lock down. “I see how my children went from asking questions like where are we going today? Do we have any plans this weekend? Are we hanging out at my aunt’s house?

They then shifted to, “Why do we have to leave the house? Can’t we just stay home? We don’t want to go outside.”

“This whole thing feels like its straight out of a horror movie. I believe we as adults can manage and adjust to certain situations but it’s not fair to our kids, this is such a sad period of psychological warfare,” Ms. Llorens said.

She continued, “The children have become homebodies. I do not know if this a good thing or a bad thing. Hopefully this will be a temporary phase and once it is all over, they will not be afraid to go outside and just be kids.”

Ms. Llorens said, “In the end, this pandemic I believe has brought us closer. We spend more time together. We spend as much time as we possibly can. Our communication went from a quick conversation to sitting and understanding. We all have learned to appreciate what you have and be thankful instead of focusing on what you do not have.”

I would like to thank Ms. Llorens for the opportunity and time given to interview her.

We can all agree that together we will overcome this. Let’s all practice good hygiene and try to be cautious of our surroundings.

Stay safe America.

Anthony Feliciano

Holley sixth-grader – Miss Lippa’s homeroom