Lockdown helped Families Adapt & Evolve during the Coronavirus Pandemic
This Coronavirus Pandemic is prooving to be the biggest eye-opener for mankind. Humans are finally realizing that they can’t take the place of God. Most of us agree that COVID 19 scare is real! It is no joke and we all must act responsibly especially now when there’s no lockdown in place. And, the cases still continue to rise. The pandemic has definitely turned our life upside down, it was distressing but it helped discover our hidden strengths too. Read on to know my thoughts on how Lockdown helped families adapt & evolve.
The last 3 months were not easy for anyone especially parents with young kids. We saw a lot of mothers turning to social media to share a glimpse of their hectic life under lockdown. With husbands working from home and kids not going to school they had their hands full. But as always, they (most of them) found a way to make it work in their favour.
View this post on Instagram
Similarly, we saw many fathers too effectively managing work from home along with actively participating in other tasks like household chores and child care. The lockdown helped families to bring out their hidden talents & use their strengths to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Their teamwork helped them adapt & evolve during these testing times!
But not all families could adjust to the demanding situation during coronavirus pandemic.
While some relationships flourished, others just suffocated and died. What went wrong? I guess the stubbornness of some people to accept the change and adapt to the new environment. Or, the traditional upbringing which didn’t teach them to be accepting & flexible during difficult situations.
For a change, today I want to talk about men. These are my observations based on the posts doing rounds on social media and conversation among friends in WhatsApp groups.
PIN IT!
Some men found it a bit difficult to cope up with the stress of the pandemic. As per some of the guys in my friend circle, the situation was more challenging for them as compared to their partners. Because they were forced to work from home and expected to participate in house chores too. It was too much for them! Clearly, they were not prepared mentally for such demanding situations.
Well, I couldn’t understand why do they think that it was not that challenging for women. And I wonder have they even asked their partners about that or came to that conclusion on their own.
Can we say looking at the scenario that only a small percentage of men evolved while others just survived?
Those men who evolved are the ones who looked beyond gender-biased roles at home and challenged the stereotypes. And, effectively managed work-life balance.
View this post on Instagram
On the one hand, we saw mothers working a double shift at home trying to keep everyone happy. While, on the other hand, we saw fathers cribbing about being asked to participate in the housework & look after kids along with working from home.
Do you think there was any peer pressure stopping men from doing their part?
I witnessed some absolutely silly & sick jokes doing rounds on Whatsapp groups showing the plight of men under the lockdown. And, men mocking each other for doing house chores or taking care of their kids.
I fail to understand, Why do some men feel ashamed to take equal responsibilities at home? Why spending time with their own child feels like a babysitting job for them?
It’s a topic of debate and I feel we need to have such discussions openly starting within our own circle. I’m sure women would be happy to talk about it. But this time I want to urge men to come forward and start this conversation. Let’s talk!
I know a lot of families who worked as a team during the lockdown & came out stronger than ever together. We are one of them!
View this post on Instagram
Life became extremely challenging during the initial days under lockdown. I would have lost it completely if Sumit (my husband) was not around. He not only took the equal responsibility of the household chores but he was there for Nemit too as a hands-on dad, as always.
We all thrive on appreciation, so why not acknowledge the efforts of our partners to motivate them.
Today, I want to thank my husband for overcoming traditional bias and breaking the gender stereotypes at home when it was needed the most. Thank you, baby, for always being there with us. Thank you for all your efforts in helping your family adapt and evolve during this coronavirus pandemic.
The Blog train ‘THE PANDEMIC THAT CHANGED OUR LIFE UPSIDE DOWN’ has been initiated by blogger Ila Varma to bring bloggers together to share numerous experiences of #pandemiclockdown2020.
I’d like to thank Paresh Godwani for introducing me. You can read his post here – ‘Reality Checks During Pandemic‘. Now, I would like to introduce you to Natasha and you can read her post here – ‘Natasha Musing‘.
Do you think the lockdown helped families adapt & evolve? What are your thoughts on this?
The actual thing is that some men thought mardaangi is not in helping women, it is in laughing on men who are doing it. One morning during lockdown, I was sanitizing the groceries I ordered and my brother was sweeping the floor. And as he reached near the an uncle in the neighborhood saw him and started laughing on him. Throughout the first phase of lockdown, his wife was cribbing about allowing maids in the society and his husband was laughing on men who were helping in household chores. That was the actual proble..
That’s the saddest part, we are surrounded by such people. I feel the only way to bring a change in the mindset of these people is by having open conversations and calling them out rather than ignoring their comments.
I believe in setting an example for others.let others laugh at you n you stop reacting. They will automatically stop passing comment. Further, each person of the family should contribute. The lockdown phase made people realise that you can rely on family n not on support staff in crisis.
Neha, well expressed.
I completely agree with you Neha and yes it is sad aspect of our so called morden society, where so many men still feel that they are only meant for earning money or doing their job. Loved your write up and you had shared a really important topic that often remain ignore during hectic life style.
Thank you Surbhi 🙂
Neha, I really don’t understand why the shame or uneasiness in doing your own work? If a woman can take care of 10 things without thinking about if she folding clothes of her husband or washing plates of her kids then why not men? Whats is big deal in it? If in today’s situation also, then feel proud of not helping out at home then we can’t do anything of their mentality. We can do what we think is right.
Even I don’t understand that Alpana and that’s why I am urging men to come out and speak for themselves. What is it that’s going on in their minds, what’s stopping them to contribute to house chores or the so-called ‘women’s job’? Housework and child care is not just a woman’s job, hope they know this.
Agree with what you have written , some men behaved responsibly and somenot , it’s the way of thinking and attitude .
Right, but their conduct during this difficult time made things worse for their family members. It’s high time people bring a change in their attitudes for the sake of their own family.
This post really pinch me,because my hubby is same. He is not interested in doing housechore or look after kids. Lot of burden on me that sometimes frustrates me. I don’t want my son to be like that, lazy bum.
Nice post, Kudos to all men who came forward to join hands in house chores.
I completely support teamwork when we are a family and stay together, so why not work together.
I am happy to read this Neha that someone picked the matter of those WhatsApp jokes where men are shown as a victim due to performing their own house chores during the lockdown, like seriously these jokes never made me laugh the same question always arose in my mind that what’s a big deal if someone is helping his partner in her daily household chores? Well written stay safe stay healthy.
You raised several very pertinent points. Yes it is true most of us men, do not do or like to do much house work. We think it is a woman’s job. Corona virus and lockdown as shattered the myth. Many men had to do somework or other, out of compusion, compassion or shame. In the US, men compulsorily help out their wives, lest they choose to go single. In India, maids do a lot of work in homes that can afford maids. Now corona virus has deprived house holds of maids because of lockdown. Men don’t have much choice but do something, no matter how miniscule. If the things continue this way, I guess next generation of male child will be raised differently.
Thank god for supportive and hands-on husbands. They are indeed a blessing. A lovely post Neha, it’s so important to acknowledge everything our men do!
Seriously I had a my helping husband by my side too.. He used to show some tantrum here and there but would eventually shared the load like a pro. For that matter, even I gave my little one some duties… 😀 Adapting to a situation is the only way to survive.
A lovely post. I have seen some men think that doing household chores will hurt their manhood, the worst consequences of our patriarchal society.
I know and I hate such people and their mindset. I’ve even written a post about it – http://growingwithnemit.com/lockdown-helped-families-adapt-evolve/
Nice post and I am blessed to have a partner who totally get himself involved in house chores too along with his office work. Everyone must learn that its each individuals responsibilty and not only the women in the house is responsible. Great writeup.
The MIndset needs to be changed. There is no shame in load-sharing. Until we accept it wholeheartedly, nothing can bring positive social change. I hope many would have learnt about the chores and how much efforts one need to have to finish these. Thanks for writing about this.