Working parents struggle

疫情之下上班族育儿难

A staggering 25 percent of working parents areconsidering giving up their jobs, or cutting downtheir hours, so they can better look after theiroffspring during the novel coronavirus lockdown,according to a new study.

新研究显示，多达25%的上班族父母正在考虑放弃工作或削减工时，以便在新冠病毒封锁期间更好地照顾自己的子女。

Researchers from Trinity McQueen market researchcompany found 69 percent of working parents in theUK have struggled to balance their working lives with the demands of children who are spendinglong hours at home and who often need home schooling.

市场研究公司Trinity McQueen的研究人员发现，英国69%的上班族父母努力平衡自己的工作和孩子的需求，如今孩子在家呆的时间很长，而且经常需要在家上课。

Many parents said they could not find alternative childcare arrangements during thegovernment-mandated lockdown aimed at restricting people-to-people contact and limiting thespread of COVID-19 disease.

许多父母表示，政府为了限制人与人间的接触、遏制新冠肺炎传播实施强制性封锁期间，他们找不到其他的育儿安排。



Simpson Millar, lawyers specializing in education issues, said the findings show a feared secondwave of infections and a return to a full lockdown could have a disastrous effect on familiesthat are already struggling to cope.

以教育问题见长的律师辛普森·米拉尔表示，调查结果显示，令人担心的第二波感染和全面封锁可能会给那些本已不堪重负的家庭带来灾难性的影响。

Many parents feel alone because they have had little support from schools.

许多家长因为得不到学校的支持而感到孤独。

About 45 percent of the 1,001 parents who took part in the survey told researchers theirmental health had been impacted by having their children at home for such a prolongedperiod.

1001名参与这项调查的家长中约有45%的人向研究者表示，孩子长期在家已令他们的心理健康受到影响。

Of those parents, 871 held down jobs.

这些家长中，有871人保住了职位。

About one-fifth said they did not hold out hope that their employer would help with childcarearrangements.

约1/5的家长表示他们对雇主帮忙解决育儿问题不抱希望。