"We need more social connection than ever."

A conversation about "pandemic parenting" with trauma researcher, psychologist and mom, Dr. Amanda Zelechoski

My partner and I have just wrapped up our seven thousandth, six hundred and eighty-third conversation about whether we should send our Kindergartner back to school in person. 

“Dealing with her education is harder than being unemployed,” he said. (He’s been unemployed since March 2020). We’ve been so lucky: No one’s gotten sick, and we’ve been able to stay afloat financially, but the daily pressures of dealing with a kid at home have taken their toll.

I’ve had dozens of these kinds of conversations with friends and coworkers over the past several months: about job loss, protecting our health and that of our families, struggles over schooling, and working with kids with special needs.  

Now that we’ve turned the one-year mark, we wanted to know more about the emotional and psychological impacts of the pandemic.