Kids in many parts of the country are back in school full time, but that doesn’t mean the stress of COVID is over for parents and families. As of October 7, more than 6 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Over 750,000 new pediatric COVID cases have been added just in the four weeks between September 13 and October 11. Even for parents whose kids have not gotten the virus, the constant threat of illness, having kids home during school quarantines and missed work is a major source of stress.
In fact, nearly one in four U.S. parents say their child has had to quarantine due to COVID exposures this school year, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.
COVID vaccines for kids ages 5-11 are currently in the final steps of the approval process and could be available as soon as Halloween. Until then, many parents are forced to tough it out, juggling work and child care and doing their best to keep kids healthy.
Here, nine parents share what the school year has been like for them so far and how they’re coping with the ongoing stress of parenting in a pandemic.
1. My kid caught COVID, and my work schedule went out the window
“I had one child test positive for COVID 48 hours before the first day of school. She and her older sister had to quarantine for over a week, and my husband and my work schedules were thrown into chaos. I’m extremely lucky to work for myself and get to make my own schedule, but the work still has to get done, which meant a lot of late nights or squeezing in an hour before they woke up. It also meant a lot of screen time, hours and hours, which I’m totally fine with. There is no screen time shame to be had in our home. Screens literally saved us during the last year and a half.”
— Kate Spencer, parent of two from Los Angeles
2. I work in a school, and COVID combined with other colds has created chaos
“I work in a school, and I have two kids in school. For us, the hardest part has been the non-COVID illnesses. We have all been sick multiple times so far this school year, and unless the kids get a negative COVID test, they can’t go back to school until 10 days after they exhibit the first symptom of being sick. This has been rough on us health-wise, but it’s also been hard on me, who works full time, because I have to keep missing work.”
— Erin Torres, parent of two from Fontana, California
3. As a solo parent, I’m just so happy to have my child back in school
“I feel lucky that our area takes COVID seriously, for the most part, and almost all of our teachers and staff are vaccinated. Our numbers have remained low and steady since school started. I’m a solo parent, and my child is in first grade, so kindergarten was done almost totally virtually. It was incredibly difficult on me and them, and I saw my child grow depressed and emotional over those months. During that time, I had COVID and then long COVID, and I worked full time from bed. It was profoundly difficult. Being in school with mandatory masks has been fantastic. My child is vibrant and excited for each day and those new relationships.”
— Jill M., parent of one from Portland, Oregon
4. It seems like COVID is everywhere, but our only choice is to keep going
“Our school acts like COVID never happened. There are choir concerts in packed cafeterias and football games with packed stands. My kids are in 6th and 12th grades, and we get an email at least once a week to notify us of a new exposure either of a student in one of their classes or a teacher. I’ve heard teachers in the district don’t have to quarantine if they are asymptomatic. We haven’t even been asked to quarantine when someone on my son’s football team got COVID even though they work out in close quarters. We’ve been testing as needed, plus we are vaccinated. We literally grin and bear it, and just take it day by day. I even delayed my wedding that was supposed to happen last week due to my worries and having super-vulnerable family members.”
— Steph Peterson, parent of two from San Antonio
5. Our community takes COVID very seriously, and I think it’s made a difference
“My child is in elementary school, so none of the kids are vaccinated, but our school year has been successful so far. Our district has mandatory masks. So far, there have only been two cases in a school of over 400. Our county is over 85% vaccinated, and our city over 90%. Our district has about 30,000 students and staff, and as of our last [COVID] report, our district was below 200 total cases. Testing is also provided by the district or is easily available through our county for those that need it. They’re doing a great job.”
— Christina Acquistapace Kilmer, parent of one from San Jose, California
6. My son spent almost two weeks in quarantine, and it’s very lonely
“My son’s entire middle school had to stay home in quarantine for nearly two weeks after rampant spread in only the first nine days of the school year in our mask-optional district. He was fully virtual last year and was so excited to go back in person. The news that he had to stay home again so soon after starting the year was devastating to him. He’s old enough that it isn’t too disruptive to my full-time, remote job, but it was hard on me working while he was hanging out alone at home. It’s certainly not great for his psyche to be stuck at home when he’d much rather be in a routine and seeing his friends.”
— Valerie W., parent of two from Charlotte, North Carolina
7. COVID hasn’t impacted us as much as I thought it would, and I’m surprised
“I’m surprised to say my daughter’s school has had hardly any COVID cases this year. It was actually worse last year. My daughter is one of the only kids who wears a mask, and she’s not old enough to be vaccinated. We haven’t had to quarantine even once so far, knock on wood. I was expecting it to be a lot different.”
— Kristen Hall, parent of one from Frisco, Texas
8. It feels like bad COVID news is always just around the corner
“As a parent, it feels like we’re always just waiting for the COVID call. I had to miss work for a week last month to be out with my second grader who had to quarantine because someone in his class got sick. My boss let me call into meetings and do what I could from home, and my son didn’t test positive, so it ended up working out, but the stress of it all is just so overwhelming. Parents are not OK right now.”
— Beth A., parent of one from Omaha, Nebraska
9. I just feel lucky to have my kids back in school
“We have four kids, and our school has been wonderful with COVID safety concerns. Our school board had overwhelming positive parental support for masking. So far, cases have been contained, and there haven’t been any grade quarantines. Everyone has shown great care in loving our neighbors and keeping everyone safe. It is so good for our kids to be back in school. Our district was largely virtual last year, and we withdrew to homeschool. We had a lot of fun, but I also have a full-time job, and it was hard. They missed their friends.”
— Meg St-Esprit, parent of four from Pittsburgh
