Where Were You in March 2020?

About 500 parents poured their hearts out in the pandemic parenting survey that we sent out into the world last fall. We’ve been reading your words for a few months (THANK YOU) , and now, here we are in March of 2025. Somehow, it’s been five years since the world shut down, and we’re ready to talk through our own pandemic experiences, share some of our favorite quotes from those responses, and we’re also so grateful to share some of the over-arching themes from your many, thoughtful survey responses.

This episode also kicks off our pandemic parenting series: Through the month of March, every few days we’ll share conversations with parents whose survey responses were particularly interesting or emblematic. Hey, we all parented hard through a global pandemic! So, that was pretty weird. A lot of us miss those slower days, while a lot of us absolutely do NOT. Some of us moved across the country. Some of us got divorced. We’re still worried about our kids. We’re still a little anxious. We learned everything can change overnight. We know our neighbors better. Any way you slice it, that time is still with us. Let’s talk about it!

* Our pandemic parenting survey (you can still take it if you want to)

* America’s Mothers Are in Crisis: Is anyone listening to them? Jessica Grose (New York Times)

* Pandemic Oral History by Jon Mooallem (New York Times)

* “Successes and Lessons Learned in Responding to the Needs of Pediatricians, Children, and Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic” American Academy of Pediatrics

* “I'll Be First In Line To Vaccinate My Kids, But I'll Never Forget That We Were Last” Miranda (Romper)

* Meaghan O’Connell rules

* Every Mom I Know Is On Antidepressants (Romper)

A lot of people who took our pandemic parenting survey thanked us for just asking how parenting through a global pandemic was, and giving them space to process it all. We really do want to hear about your pandemic experiences — feel free to share your own experiences in the anonymous survey (linked above) or in the comments below.

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