Fewer Taiwanese parents have allowed their children to play outdoors since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an online poll conducted in January and February and released Thursday by the Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF).

More than 70 percent of local parents said they do not take their children outdoors to play because of the pandemic, while 36 percent said their children have no one to play with because of fears of COVID-19, and 30.1 percent said their children play outside less than before, the survey found.

In contrast, the time children spend playing video games and 3C devices has greatly increased, with the percentage playing 3C devices and home video games consoles increasing from 6.5 percent to 19 percent and 2 percent to 9.5 percent, respectively, since the pandemic started, according to the survey.

COVID-19 has also changed the way parents interact with their children, with kids required to wear masks when outdoors and having less time to play with friends at fewer venues, foundation chief executive officer Pai Li-fang (???) said.

Although nearly 90 percent of parents with children under six years old said they felt satisfied with how they raised their children, 56 percent indicated frustration and 53.6 percent said they felt stressed, the survey revealed.

More than 60 percent of parents admitted they sometimes lose their temper with their children, while over 50 percent said their families differ on how best to educate children.

In addition, nearly 30 percent of working parents agreed that it is hard to strike a balance between work and family, according to the online poll conducted from Jan. 18 to Feb. 23 that collected 926 valid samples from parents who had children between 0-6 years old.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel