In the beginning of the pandemic I was 7 months pregnant and working in an ICU. As things starting getting worse more changes would come on how we operated day to day. Day to day became hour to hour, things would be changing. New policies, then new policies would change. I was also becoming concerned about how the rest of my pregnancy and delivery would be. When the policy came down that all hospital personnel had to wear a mask at all times I started to have a problem. Due to wearing a mask and being pregnant my gag reflex would be triggered and I would get sick. After trying to work for 3 days my only option was to take early maternity leave. So while I was not at work for most of the worst part of the first wave of the pandemic it was still a little unnerving. I stayed in contact with my coworkers and stayed up to date on my unit and the hospital policies. It was not only going to affect my job but also the rest of my pregnancy and delivery. On my last doctors appointment I was sent to labor and delivery to have my baby. I was nervous because honestly who wants to bring a life into a world of pandemic. I feared for the health of my newborn child. Upon admission you have to be tested for Covid-19, it was very uncomfortable! I was lucky to be able to have my fiancé there with me for the labor and delivery but once he left the hospital he was not able to return but only to pick me up from the door. Granted, this was my 4th child and I knew what to expect, it still was sad that he was not able to spend the entire time with me nor were my other children able to come and visit. At least I was able to have previous experiences of giving birth before the pandemic. After giving birth, we were pretty sheltered. No one visited. We never left the house unless absolutely necessary. My newborn son had only left the house to go to the doctor before this past week. I had to return to work so he is now attending a small daycare along with my 2 year old daughter. Their father and I are both essential workers. Having children during this time makes things so much more complicated. Can't take the kids to the store or to any appointments so trying to organize schedules is very complicated. I miss going out as a family. Before the pandemic my family and I would go every where together. Even if it was just the store. We loved just to spend that time together. Now I feel like we are never all together unless we are sleeping, then we are all home together. I pray for the day that we are all able to go out together, take kids to do activities and just spend time all together outside of the home. This pandemic has made me and I am sure many others realize how truly blessed we were and if at any point in our lives things get back to where they were before the pandemic to not take such things as going out as a family for granted.

Children and the pandemic. My four year old daughter does not understand what a pandemic is. She repeats that she cannot go outside or to school or to the park because of "the coronavirus". Her and her siblings, along with children all over the world, have been greatly impacted by this pandemic with no understanding of the ramifications of it's spread. Children have been sent home, isolated, many removed from space places like schools or after care programs. They have lost friendships and socialization. They have lost structure. Some have lost family members. Parents out of work have cost their family food or housing. Adults struggling to cope with their own depression and anxiety has increased children's as well. For me personally all seven of my children have been affected. My son was forced to move home from college and fell into a deep depression. My oldest daughter never walked across a graduation stage or finished her senior year. My fifteen year old with autism lost support services from school. My thirteen year old lost sports and his friendships. My ten year old with epilepsy had medical testing pushed back and then had hospitalizations with only one parent allowed, even had to be taken by paramedics alone to the hospital once. My seven year old with ADHD lost all class structure and intervention programs to help him and his anxiety and panic attacks have grown more severe. And my four year old, pictured above, lost her classroom and her joy from attending preschool daily. The new round of "return to school" virtually is brought with more anxiety and worry that the kids are not alright. The picture above showcases the innocence of a child wanting to explore the world, trapped inside and the slight sadness that this may be for the long haul. #REL101

Being a Single Parent in a Time of COVID-19 My daily family life has changed since the global rise of the coronavirus disease pandemic since parenting is coupled with more responsibilities. Being a single parent to two children has arguably increased exposure to caregiving stress, especially with two teenagers, 16 and 17 years. My younger child has dyslexia learning disorder and has an IEP since kinder garden comprehend without additional help from a special ed teacher the struggle in school became much harder. I focused more of my attention on my younger son being that he was a freshmen level while the older child is attending to his senior year of school. I have been helping them adopt and utilize online schooling programs effectively while attending to my full-time job. Markedly, finding a balance between caregiving, offering them help in school work, and attending to my career has proved challenging during this COVID-19 period. The most robust experience I have so far is to offer them guidance to enable them to comprehend the content accessed from online sources. I dedicate more time to my younger son since he has a learning disorder, limiting his ability to follow directions given on the online platforms. Besides teaching, teenagers' lives have been affected since they are in the development stage characterized by socializing, finding new friends, and distancing from parents. In the earlier stages of the spread of COVID 19, the teenagers perceived the quarantine measures by the government as weapons to suppress their freedom and had to sneak out sometimes. I have experienced a parenting burden in training them to exercise self-care during these tough times, and they still seem distressed since they can no longer meet their friends. Moreover, online learning and their daily upkeep have incurred additional expenses, which may hamper my ability to meet the schools' future mandates. Markedly, it may become difficult for me to purchase learning resources in the future since there has been a reduction in my earnings and hours.

Dear son, I am so sorry you are having to live through these crazy times. You are only three and don't understand why we can't go see your grandparents and your friends. I know that it sucks that we can't play outside and living in an apartment makes it even worse. It will be over some day soon. I am so proud of you wearing your mask anytime we have to go somewhere. I am so glad you're in such good spirts at all times. When all of this is all over we will go and visit family and friends. We might have lost a year but my love we will go on vacation and see our family and friends. Just a little longer and we won't have to wear our masks. Until then my son keep strong and we will get through this.

It is a huge summer tradition in our family to go to the Orange County Fair. Even when we go somewhat ironically, we always have a great time. When the fair was cancelled this year, my mom and I decided we would run the fair for my kids at our house. We went all in. We made a “photo booth” and a theme, to emulate the somewhat cheesy themes the fair has every year. My daughter made rides and games, with tickets for purchase. There was an art exhibit, and a “carnival of products” where my daughter “sold” suncatchers she and her brother made. We awarded items in our garden with fair ribbons. And, most importantly, we home made every fair food you can imagine - Orange Julius, soft pretzels, sausages, grilled corn, corn dogs, funnel cake and more. Orange County Fair 2020, COVID, Quarantined, and Closed actually turned out to be a pretty amazing day!

This is an oral history interview by AG, a 39 year old mother of three young children living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She discusses the stresses and worries about the Coronavirus time.

Since mid-May, our 18yo son's friend has been living with us. D's mother is immunocompromised, and he needed to return to work when restaurants re-opened to save money for college in the fall. He moved in, adding a fourth teenager to our house. He is a wonderful guest and we have enjoyed having him. It can't be easy for him to live with a family that is not his own, but he handles it very well. Last week, these flowers arrived for me. D's dad and grandmother sent them (they live out of state) as a thank you for us hosting D these past months. I was so surprised and touched by the gesture. I know D and his family are grateful that he has a safe place to live while ensuring his family's health, and I appreciate that. While literally stopping my day to smell my flowers, I started thinking about gratitude, and the ways I will always be grateful to 2020: - My family is healthy, safe and together. - I realize that my son knows the value in surrounding himself with good people; getting to know his friend has been a blessing. - We were able to continue our school and work lives, even while isolated at home. Not all are so lucky. - As things re-open slowly, our lives are not returning to the crazy levels of busy that is our normal. Instead of school and practices and large gatherings, small groups of friends are coming over almost every day, and I love having a full house. - Our future plans are still moving forward, albeit in a different format. Online classes for my high schoolers and hybrid college classes for college kids. Working from home. We are making it all work. - While we haven't been having family crafting projects or other Instagram worthy activities, we have been able to connect often and easily. A conversation about politics; one about ethics; another about relationships. All of these happened organically because we are physically together. Also conversations about LeBron vs. Michael and ranking of the Star Wars franchise; not every conversation is deep. - Most importantly, I realize that the first half of 2020 was a gift: I got extra time with my kid, right before he leaves for college. I got extra time with my high schoolers that wasn't carved out of a crazy schedule. My husband and I spent time reading next to each other and doing puzzles. It would be crazy for me to say 2020 has been wonderful; it hasn't. It has been awful. However, even in these crazy and unsure times, there can be gratitude. And flowers. And Star Wars movies.

An incomplete interview with Malesia. Malesia Lyles tells the story of the illness in her family from November 2019 through March 2020, and the steps she went through to get medical help. This involves themes of racism, homelessness, shelters, education, and children.

Dawn Brunschon is a K-12 librarian currently working at home and helping to find new ways to connect with kids from afar and to connect kids with books. In this interview, Dawn discusses the challenges of working from home, what education might look like as the pandemic goes on, worries about her family and the economy, as well as social issues.

A tweet from author Anne Thériault talking about the silver lining to the disruption to routine brought on by the pandemic. She and her son have been staying with her mother in Kingston instead of their home in Toronto.

One year ago, I took part in this same mass at the same church to celebrate my graduation from high school. Now, it breaks my heart to see many friends of mine who were a grade below me to have this experience months late, and not being able to sit next to the brothers who have been through middle and high school with them due to the coronavirus.

This is the second episode of the Boston Children's Museum's podcast, Big & Little, podcast for adults about kids and families. In this episode, BCM CEO "Carole [Chernow] chats with psychologist Dr. Nancy Rappaport about the challenges the pandemic presents for parents and children. Dr. Rappaport, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard University Medical School, sheds light on some of the positive effects families can take away from this historic time."

News story about a nurse's struggle to find daycare for her young son. Her son's previous daycare closed, perhaps permanently, he is far down the waiting list for emergency daycare for the children of frontline workers, and then a spot she did find him fell through when the parents of other children in the daycare, two of whom had weak immune systems and asked the carer not to take the child on as they feared he would carry covid19 to daycare from his mother's work at a hospital. She has not been able to work due to the unavailability of care, during a time when nurses are in high demand. However, the article also mentions that after a story on the situation was aired on the nightly television news, the nurse received numerous calls offering to watch the child for her.

While COVID-19 kept many at home over the last few months it didn't stop the inequalities and injustices faced by many across the United States. Many protestors in Fargo, ND marched through the city while also wearing their masks and being aware of social distancing protocols. The two women pictured, Janna and Marissa Diggs are a mother and daughter who are relatives of my mother.

No one loves birthdays more than my son. When it became clear that he wouldn’t be having a birthday party, or taking his traditional birthday trip to Disneyland, we planned a surprise birthday parade for him, and invited guests to try to break a Coronavirus piñata (from their car window). We were overwhelmed by the amount of people who came - we do not live close to our friends/family, and we had people drive over an hour (in Southern CA!) for a five minute parade where they had to stay in their car. We were most touched that even his Kindergarten teacher (who lives 30 minutes away) came by. The birthday boy wore a special homemade Mickey Mouse with a mask shirt that said “turning 6 in quarantine, still celebrating with Mickey.”

I am a parent advocate for Kawasaki Disease. I have given talks at symposiums for parents, groups and doctors and run the Kawasaki Disease Northern California Facebook pages. Levi my son is a 2X survivor and had Kawasaki shock syndrome the first time it nearly took his life. He is 11 now and wants to help me educate the community. About a month ago doctors in the UK announced a Kawasaki like illness in children who were diagnosed with Covid-19. Since that time I have received numerous messages and phone calls from concerned community members. This video was made to alleviate fears and encourage people to donate to read watch that has begun at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.

Teachers in Fairfield are required to clean out their classrooms with school closure for the remainder of the year. Daycare's are closed and many teachers are forced to bring their children with them to pack up their classroom. This U.S. History classroom is normally full of vibrant students. The distance requirements in the district mandate that educators pre-schedule pack-up times so a limited number of teachers are on campus at a time. Canyon Bell (Pictured) is helping mommy clean. The campus is empty.

A staff member from Arizona State University's School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies sharing their home workspace. Most ASU employees are working from home during the pandemic.

The Saturday before Mother's Day, Family Dollar sold out all of its Mother's Day Cards. *Lystria Hurley, Fordham University

A person's thoughts on COVID-19 and their strategies for protecting themselves from the disease.

A submission describing a person's struggle with their mental health during the pandemic and resulting lockdown, detailing how isolation has negatively impacted their mental health.

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Spring is a magical time in the desert. The weather and cacti blooms are nothing short of amazing. My two young daughters and I spent a lot of time outside during this quarantine and always looked forward to our daily walks where we could admire the bright colors and unique shapes of the cacti blooms. We feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful area.

The COVID-19 virus disrupts life, particularly our relationships with those we love. But, relationships are flexible and adapt to circumstance. My brother's economics professor has not posted his final grade, yet. Remote learning creates many opportunities for students to violate the academic integrity policies of their schools, and my brother's class was no exception. Due to several perceived violations on the final exam, his professor delayed the posting of all final grades. In other words, although he did not cheat, he had to sweat it out with everyone else. My mother knew he was worried and wanted to leave him with some encouragement in the morning, so she left this note on his laptop before she left for work. We don't see her in the morning anymore, but my mom is always there for us. #FordhamUniversity #VART3030

My daughter wrote this note expressing the fears around the virus, why she didn’t send flowers, and even a note is scary now, fear of contagion. My grandsons made the card.

Small child walks in asking mom how to turn off the video call. This meme captures the idea that sometimes as a parent we let our kid have a bit more access to devices than usual, letting them make video calls to friends and family. This lets them maintain their connections to the outside world, but it also means they're not totally able to handle all the technology.

This image displays a baby, reaching out and touching the face shield of what seems to be her mother all gowned up and dressed in PPE. The woman in the picture who seems to be a health care worker who is also a mother is crying as she is torn away from beating able to hug and kiss her child because of the possibility of being infected after working in the hospital with coronavirus patients. This picture is especially special because it touches upon the hardships that health care workers are facing after working with patients all-day and not being able to have that relief of coming home and being comforted by their family members. This post was also made right before mother's day. The caption to this picture was in Portuguese and said "Mães. Hoje é o vosso dia. Esta ilustração vem ao encontro das mensagens que fui recebendo de profissionais de saúde que anseiam voltar a abraçar os filhos. Continuem com a mesma força de sempre. A cuidar dos filhos, dos pais e dos avós de alguém. O coração dos vossos filhos está carregado de orgulho. 🖤 a todas as mães um grande beijinho, um especial à minha. ✨ ©️2020, Sofia Pádua." When translated to English it said "Mothers. Today is your day. This illustration is in line with the messages I have received from health professionals who want to hug their children again. Continue with the same strength as always. Taking care of someone's children, parents, and grandparents. Your children's hearts are filled with pride. A big kiss to all mothers, a special one to mine. ✨ © ️2020, Sofia Pádua."

A poem or story about a mother's dream.

This portrait of my son was the first time I have painted since my child was born. Although our household is busier than ever, I was inspired by my son’s love of art. We will look back on our time together at home as a special time.

#FordhamUniversity #VART3030 The COVID-19 virus disrupts life, particularly our relationships with those we love. But, relationships are flexible and adapt to circumstance. My mom is the Executive Director of a non-profit organization in Nutley, New Jersey. Her organization provides affordable food and psychological services to the greater community, making her an essential worker. Her role requires her to sacrifice a lot of her time at home. So, she can no longer see my brothers and I in the morning to keep us on track. Instead, she leaves notes for us, using notebooks and paper towels. This note is a "to-do" list for the day with some encouragement written in parentheses.

As the general population contemplates their loss of physical freedom and financial uncertainty there is an entire population of people being overlooked- the disabled. As a mother of a teenage son on the autism spectrum I am struggling to help him navigate a new world that I myself can barely comprehend. The basic routine and structure that all ASD children need to thrive has all but disappeared. In its place is only chaos and uncertainty, with parents desperately trying to hold things together. On a normal day my son attends a non-public special needs school with primarily ASD students. That school is now closed for an undetermined amount of time. That school does not just provide a special educator but desperately needed occupational therapy, speech-language therapy and behavioral support. My son also receives various outpatient services, many of which he has attended with the same physicians for most of his life. But, for the public safety, those have now closed- so they have been taken from him as well. As we try to maneuver to telehealth to supplement some of those supports the overwhelming truth of it all is clear- I will now be his teacher, OT, SLP and behavioral therapist. I am a fierce mother, but I am but one woman. How will I balance the need to work with his need for structure and medical care? How can I be at all places at once, doing jobs I am unqualified for? And while I am trying to juggle all professions at once, when will I ever just be mom again? My son is afraid. He is uncertain. But the reality is that there is no way for me to truly make him understand. My only solace is the strong community of ASD parents that have rallied to try to bring some sense of normalcy back to daily life. Our children miss their friends. Friendships are not easy to come by for this community, particularly among neuro-typical peers. So, the friendships formed among this group, within this non-public school, are crucial to their mental/emotional well-being. We all know it and we are all worried. Our children are prone to depression and self-harm. How can we keep them from isolating and regressing in a situation where isolation is required? One parent offers daily Zoom meetings. Every day at 3:00pm. If we can get all of the children to join we can only hope that it will fill the void, and help them feel like they are not alone. But we are all we have. The truth is we are all alone. The services we rely on are gone. The teachers are gone. Our routines are in shambles and the world is crashing down around us. We all understand the seriousness. We all understand the why. But as the world now turns to meet the needs of the pandemic the needs of our disabled children lay in the balance unseen and unheard.

Educators experience the impact that Covid-19 is having on our society first hand, as schools across the nation shut down to slow the pandemic. Sarah discusses when she first heard of the novel disease and what she thought of it. She discusses the transition from school to online school and how she coped with this transition after just returning from maternity leave and also caring for an immunocompromised son.

My son's school closed on Monday. He is a high energy kid and copes better when he knows what the day holds. So I devised a schedule for us where he can continue to learn whilst school is closed. We are finding that having a schedule is really helping with our daily life. It is meant to be flexible and serves more of a touchstone for when things get difficult throughout the day. Many people are saying that time in isolation is a great opportunity to learn an instrument or language, master a hobby or really relax - but those of us with children don't have that luxury.

Schools were closed down and I had already pulled my son 2 days prior to the announcement out of fear. A mandatory lockdown is looming so we dropped the kids with my mom for what may be the last time in awhile and went to grab groceries and one last take out from Chilis.

I had to take a picture of dropping my son off at his ASU campus because it was strangely empty, and quiet. I almost wanted to walk him to his group meeting but didn't. He had this.

This photo was taken of the author's six-year-old son after he was left alone with a "geology kit" while the author participated in a conference call for work. The child had been sent home from school that morning because he complained of a headache and phlegm in his throat. Since he was not actually ill, the author endeavored to find interesting activities for him to do throughout the day while she worked from home. Three days later, the child's school, a private Montessori School serving students 18 months - 14 years, notified all parents that it would be closed indefinitely. The universities where the author and her spouse worked also announced closures (at least regarding in-person student services) beginning Monday, March 16. The author and her husband are now attempting to balance "Montessori-at-home" for their 3 and 6-year-olds with "working-from-home" until the crisis is over. As of this writing, the author believes this could be anywhere from one month to six months. Even as this presents challenges, the author is thankful for the security of hers and her husband's salaried university jobs and their capacity for sharing childcare responsibilities, knowing how much harder a similar situation would be for a wage-worker or a person relying on tips.

Once the President announced the National Emergency for COVID-19, this meme surfaced bridging a similarity to the feeling parents of children with autism live out daily to society new normal.