Being in lockdown for quite some time now has made everyone adjust to the new normal. In particular, parents have more to juggle now that work from home and homeschooling are added to their everyday lives.
The struggle is real because they have to do so much at the same time. Worse, kids sometimes (or maybe, most of the time) do not want to cooperate with how things should be happening.
Do you want to get a glimpse of pandemic parenting? A new online game lets you into a journey that you have never seen before.
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A world of chaos and stress
Smita Venkat developed the Parenting In a Pandemic Simulator (PIPS). The game brings you into a world very familar to parents of young children at present. Be inside a noisy, stressful, and chaotic world to see and feel real-life horror. Venkat shared the game on Facebook and discussed what you might expect.
She explained that the game is a "choose-your-own-adventure" experience. But the catch is, every choice you make leads to a horrific ending.
Multiple choice with a horrific ending
In the game, you have multiple choices to deal with everyday parenting life. You have to feed kids, do presentations at work while at home, and talk to friends without children about your stressful life. For a head start, expect that every choice you make leads to feelings of guilt, hurt, unproductiveness, or some pandemonium.
On the funny side, the game shows you a big problem that parents have to endure. It is working full-time during the pandemic while taking care of young kids at home.
See also: How to Work From Home With Children
Unpaid second full-time job: kids
Children who usually have to be in school, daycare, or at a summer camp are now at home. While parents have to work at home, they also have their kids to to play with, care for, feed, teach, and bathe. In short, at increased stress and pressure to earn more, parents have two full-time jobs, and one of which is unpaid.
Mothers bear the most weight. They are hurt more because many women experience pandemic layoffs, and most jobs dominated by females are less likely to be hiring. Economics and public policy professor at the University of Michigan, Betsey Stevenson, told The New York Times how women are affected.
See also: Coronavirus: 4 Useful Tips on How to Share the Workload at Home with Partner
Pregnant and working moms have a hard time juggling work and family together. They may spend a significant amount of time out of work to provide for the family's needs or end up not being qualified for promotions with their jobs.
She said that an entire generation of women who are hurt could be on the way.
