They have prepared for the coming period like training for a fight.
Studied all the possibilities, such as the withdrawal in Alsace among the grandparents of 66 and 71 years, still awaiting their second injection of vaccine.
“During the first confinement, I had gained 5 kg by dint of eating chocolate, I worked late at night.
We had to do things differently at all costs, ”says Juliette, 41, mother of two children aged 9 and 11, who specifically asked Jérôme, her fellow engineer, to support her more.
In the end, they decided by mutual agreement that they would take turns with their daughters every morning before devoting the afternoons to their professional activity.
Juliette will only provide two full days per week.
“Jérôme needs to go out to attend work meetings while I have a more flexible job at home, and I also earn less.
I just hope that I will accumulate less delay than last spring, my employers were very annoyed, ”laments the mother, an independent author who lives in Bordeaux (Gironde).
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Love put to the test of Covid-19: "A good crash test for all couples"
Quentin and Emilie
(the first names have been changed)
, a couple of Parisian executives, parents of Nina, 6 years old, and Théo, 3 years old, preferred to ask their parents for help in the provinces, in Hérault and the North.
“In the spring of 2020, we each stopped by alternating every other week.
But it was very difficult, every day, to prepare meals for lunch and dinner.
We didn't want to relive that at all, we absolutely had to escape, ”says Emilie.
Women "big losers from the first confinement"
One thing is certain: the third confinement will not look at all, for parents, like the period from March to May 2020. There remains the question of the sharing of domestic and parental tasks.
Various studies have shown that women were "the big losers of the first confinement", as indicated by sociologists from INED (National Institute for Demographic Studies) Anne Lambert and Joanie Cayouette-Remblière, in their book released in March , “The Explosion of Inequalities” (Aube edition).
According to INSEE figures, in confinement, women continued to assume most of the domestic and parenting tasks: 19% of women and 9% of men aged 20 to 60 spent at least four hours per week. On average day in household chores, 43% of mothers and 30% of fathers spent more than six hours a day caring for children.
They, too, were the ones who stopped working most often (35% versus 26% for men).
“Our goal, for now, is just to avoid parental burnout!”
“This can be explained in different ways,” explains Joanie Cayouette-Remblière.
Women are more used to taking care of children and in couples, it was considered that she was the most competent to teach children.
There is also an economic reason: women are more educated on average, but they are also less well paid.
If they stop working, that induces a smaller drop in income, so we preferred to sacrifice the woman's income, ”analyzes the sociologist.
“In addition, in spring 2020, men and women did not take on the same type of tasks,” reports Julie Landour, lecturer at Paris-Dauphine and co-author of a study on “families confined ”.
"It was the women who took on the most thankless and restrictive tasks such as school monitoring, they were more scrupulous and demanding, while the men often managed outdoor sports activities where they were also in a certain relaxation. », Continues the sociologist.
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Will the couples learn together the lessons of the imbalances of the first confinement?
In Bordeaux, Juliette, who wants to avoid taking 5 kg again, made Jérôme swear that they were going to stick together more.
“We're both sick of this situation, even the kids.
Our goal, for now, is just to avoid parental burnout!
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