Parenting and Covid-19
Qualitative study of educational challenges, childcare and crisis-related decision-making in diplomatic families
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15697679 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samantha K Brooks (0000-0003-3884-3583, King's College School, corresponding author), Dipti Patel (Foreign and Commonwealth Office), Neil Greenberg (0000-0003-4550-2971, King's College London), M Brooke Rogers (0000-0002-7673-1876, King's College London) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 882-882 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-08 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | BMC Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2050-7283 • E-ISSN: 2050-7283 |
| Publisher | BioMed Central (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1186/s40359-025-03133-w |
| PMID | 40781628 |
| OpenAlex | W4413055085 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 10 |
Diplomatic personnel played a critical role in looking after British nationals during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about their experiences of parenting during this time. Exploring the family-related experiences of diplomatic staff during the pandemic is important in order to understand the unique challenges faced by diplomatic families during a prolonged crisis and identify ways to support them. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 13 diplomatic personnel and thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Participants reported challenges relating to online schooling; home-schooling; boarding schools and childcare. Unique challenges were reported for those with older children and neuro-diverse children. Quarantine and evacuation, necessitated by the pandemic, left many separated from their children for long periods of time. Participants reported wanting greater support from their employer, particularly greater recognition of family units and the challenges they faced. The insights gained from this study could be used by diplomatic organisations or other multi-national organisations to develop policies aimed at improving the experiences and wellbeing of employees and their families during times of increased global uncertainty. Recommendations emerging from this study include ensuring that, if desired, families are kept together during a crisis (e.g., having a choice whether to evacuate or not where duty of care requirements permit); arranging travel exemptions for diplomatic families where possible and making every effort to reunite children with parents when desired; respecting childcare situations when defining work arrangements; and considering subsidies for childcare for diplomatic families
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Pandemic · Political science · Public relations · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Subsidy · Thematic analysis · Family Support in Illness · Health, psychology, and well-being · Law · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology
Learning loss due to school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic
Differential impact of stay‐at‐home orders on mental health in adults who are homeschooling or “childless at home” in time of Covid‐19
To saturate or not to saturate? Questioning data saturation as a useful concept for thematic analysis and sample-size rationales
“In the office nine to five, five days a week… those days are gone”
What could we do differently next time? Australian parents’ experiences of the short-term and long-term impacts of home schooling during the Covid-19 pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic
Boarding school
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Work and Family Balance in Top Diplomacy
The qualitative research interview
| Highly cited | No |
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