Many parents feel curbs hurt bond with children

Two in five Hong Kong parents say their relationship with their children worsened during the peak of the pandemic fifth wave, a survey has found.

Parents told child-care concern group KeySteps@JC that they found their kids to be more prone to emotional and behavioral problems when they stayed at home and their relationship deteriorated as they argued more often.

The survey of 700 parents last month showed that for some 40 percent the relationship deteriorated particularly from February to April - the peak of the fifth wave - after spending more time with their children.

More than two in five said they were also in a bad mood due to the social distancing measures, which led to more frequent arguments with their children.

Some 65 percent of parents felt increased stress working at home and tutoring their children at the same time.

The study found that four out of five worried about their children's growth and development under Covid measures, with another seven out of 10 raising concerns about their learning progress with in-person classes suspended.

Around 65 percent were concerned about their children's social skill development.

A mother of a boy, Leung, said she is an impatient person and that she often scolded her son when online learning began as he slept a lot. Her son, in turn, was affected by her behavior and became impatient.

Leung said she then started to control her emotions and helped her son improve his sleeping habits by encouraging and praising him.

The relationship between mother and son also improved through activities such as parent-child reading.

One of the researchers of the group, associate professor Anna Hui Na-na from City University's social and behavioural sciences department, said parents should stay positive and believe in themselves. They should also seek help from others and spare time for themselves.

Hui suggested parents set up a daily schedule and household rules with children, including the time to get up, go to school and play, in order to establish good living habits and a sense of security.

"For example, they can ask their children to change into school uniforms before starting online classes so that they will know that studying at home is just like studying at school. They should sit and concentrate instead of lying in bed," Hui said.

Separately, a survey conducted by infant formula manufacturer Mead Johnson found that nearly 70 percent of Hong Kong couples hope to have a child despite worries about child rearing.

The company interviewed 1,000 people who plan to get married or are already married and found that 86 percent believe children could bring financial burden while 69 percent believe raising children is stressful. Despite that, 66 percent still hope to have children.

The survey found that nearly 90 percent of those who already have children believe they make a family happier, while only half of childless couples believe so.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com