The challenges of figuring out school this year have created new tensions in Kristin and Brian Richardson’s relationship.
Ms. Richardson wanted their children to attend classes in-person, but Mr. Richardson worried it wasn’t safe. “There are still all these question marks,” he recalls saying. They have since tussled over the details of hosting a school “pod” with another family at their home. “That was another fight we had,” says Ms. Richardson, a sales and marketing chief in Richmond, Va.
The uncertainty around school is bringing new stresses to marriages and friendships. Parents are debating whether to send their kids to school in person, remotely, or another alternative, clashing over safety, socialization and child care. Friends are navigating complications that have arisen from makeshift new arrangements like pairing up to create DIY learning pods.
“It has caused great rifts in relationships,” says Kathryn Smerling, a New York City therapist. She says she is working with at least a half-dozen families on some of these issues. Family members are arguing over socialization versus seclusion, in-person learning versus remote, and the risks of children bringing the virus home from school.
More than one-fourth of nearly 4,000 parents said that back-to-school decision-making has been “very stressful,” according to a new survey by Pittsburgh-based consumer research firm CivicScience. Dr. Smerling advises families that no decision has to feel permanent. “It’s important to know that you can and should be flexible,” she says.
