Nearly 54 percent of parents and caregivers reported an increase in conflict with children amid school closures, a survey released yesterday by the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families showed.
Schools across Taiwan have been closed since May 19 and have switched to online teaching as part of a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert.
The survey showed 53.5 percent of parents and caregivers agreed that they have experienced more conflict with children during the suspension of in-person instruction at schools, compared with 46.3 percent who disagreed.
The poll found that 51.4 percent of respondents agreed that they “tend to have negative emotions” while schools are closed, while 48.5 percent disagreed.
Respondents were asked how they dealt with conflicts with children. They were allowed to choose multiple answers.
The most popular responses were to calm down before speaking with their children (69.9 percent) and to listen to their children (47.2 percent), the results showed, while 31.8 percent said they would scold their children.
The survey also asked parents and caregivers to report the increase in the number of hours they spend with children each day on average as a result of school closures.
Of the 1,829 participants who responded to the question, 411, or 22.47 percent, reported an increase of up to four hours.
About 34.8 percent, or 637 respondents, reported an increase of five to eight hours, while 42.7 percent, or 781 respondents, reported an increase of at least nine hours, the survey showed.
The average increase in time spent with children each day among all respondents was 6.95 hours, the fund said.
The survey found that the most common concern during COVID-19 prevention measures was personal health, as well as that of their family, at 85.5 percent.
This was followed by 55.4 percent of participants who said they were worried about a decrease in household income and 51.7 percent who said they were worried about an increase in expenses, the survey found.
Thirty-three point eight percent of respondents said they were worried about not knowing how to arrange activities for children at home, it showed.
Citing data from the fund’s annual report last year, it said that childrearing, and marital and financial issues, as well as emotional and behavioral problems, were the most common factors contributing to newly recorded cases of child and adolescent abuse.
As these overlap with the concerns parents and caregivers have during the COVID-19 pandemic, stronger measures are needed to protect children and adolescents, and to prevent abuse, the fund said.
As the COVID-19 situation makes it difficult to carry out home visits, the fund has increased the frequency of telephone appointments and one-on-one calls with children, said Chou Ta-yao (周大堯), head of the fund’s social work department, adding that it has also provided families with supplies and offered online tutoring services.
The online survey, conducted from May 28 to June 10, collected 2,323 valid responses from parents and caregivers of children under 18 years old. It has a margin of error of 1.78 percentage points.
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