How have Covid-19 and social-distancing affected family life?

Covid-19 has brought many changes in the society, including family life. In the pre-pandemic

period, people used to balance the ‘work and personal life’ pendulum a lot better than they do

now. Domestic violence has gone wild during the lockdown. Kids and parents have mixed

lifestyles – it’s almost impossible to separate personal space from an official setting. On that

account, Covid-19 has become the reason of frequent domestic abuse, child neglect, and an

influx of divorce papers.

Domestic violence, which was always a huge problem for modern families, has risen by a

significant 20% during the lockdown. Families have no other place where they can go – all the

cafes, clubs, bars, and other social gathering spots are closed. So, a drunken man with two

children and a wife is forced to spend the entirety of his special time at home. Thinking that he

could use that time to drink outside with his fellow drunkards, he can no longer control his

temper. If he hit them twice in the past, now he can hit them more. The unbothered neighbors,

camouflaging their ignorance with being “responsible citizens” for diligently following social-

distancing rules, won’t do anything to stop the violence.

Child neglect is another serious issue that has ensued this pandemic. Now imagine a tired,

nervous lawyer who has just lost a case, has no spot where she can meet up with her other lawyer

friends to just let the steam off. Instead, she comes out of her room after the call to meet her

needy kids. She then finds it hard to deal with the emotional pressure they’re putting her under,

and she decides to turn the ignore mode on and return to her room. Hours go by, but the children

are unattended, unfed, and certainly not behaving.

 The pandemic is also causing spikes in divorces due to extreme vicinity. They say that love is

most cherished when you have it less. Most of the newly-divorced couples would agree with this

statement, because not only is it cumbersome to spend the entire lockdown with anyone, but it

also reportedly makes you fall out of love. Psychologists say that even if we could marry

ourselves, the pandemic would easily make us sign the divorce papers.

Family harmony is nothing a little pandemic cannot ruin. It’s always hard to keep yourself in

full composure when everything seems to get on your nerves, even the people you’ve spent most

of your life with. Maybe sometimes it’s a clever thing to ask for a third opinion and get a

therapist to maintain the familial harmony when all hell breaks loose.