Contributed

Covid-19 and the struggle of single parents

CONTRIBUTED: As Covid-19 spread all over the world in 2020, it took many lives and created incredible sadness. With everyone’s lives being changed dramatically due to the pandemic, what was once normal has changed. 

My father James Santee, is one whose life changed dramatically due to Covid-19. Having to take care of three daughters and a son, COVID made being a single parent all the more difficult. While it doesn’t seem like life has changed a lot from an outsider view of not being a single parent. In reality, a lot has. After researching, I discovered that a lot of single parents’ lives have changed for worst due to the pandemic. 

My father has quite a different view on Covid-19 than most. He believes the media portrays it as a bigger deal than it is. After interviewing my father, he stated that COVID has made single parenting hard because we are all home more often due to school being online. Therefore, since he is needed at work while my siblings and I are home, we aren’t often supervised. It also means my father has less time he can spend with us. 

Money was a big worry at one point. My father is a business owner and all of the businesses were shut down due to the lockdown for quite a while. And because no one could use his business, he was earning a smaller income. Since my dad has very lax views on COVID, he doesn’t normally wear masks unless it’s required. He isn’t afraid of getting sick or of it coming into our household. Therefore, he doesn’t hold my siblings and I inside the house all day, preventing us from socializing and going places.  

Categories: Contributed, COVID-19, Feature