A single mother opens up about her fears and struggles during lockdown

When Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced school closures due to the pandemic, Murielle Cho a 30-year-old single mother experienced mixed emotions.

As the realities of lockdown , stockpiling, homeschooling, loss of work and income all hit home, single parents feared they would not be able to feed their children or look after them if they get ill.

Murielle, who lives in south London has twins the age of two and an 11-year-old . She said: “I started to worry about my income within the first week, will I be financially stable?” 

Murielle Cho

According to ONS  in 2019 there were 2.9 million Single-parent families in, which is 14.9% of families in the UK; London has the highest proportion (19.1%), while the South West of England (10.9%) has the lowest. 

The impacts of dealing with the practical and and financial effects of COVID-19 while also having responsibility for yours and your children’s mental and physical health can be enormous.

With the changes she has experienced she believes her children are also feeling the change. “My 11-year-old always complains about being bored, and lately I’ve realised the twins are always throwing tantrums,” she said.

With the help of her sister Murielle was used to taking out time to for her self once every 4 months, but since the lockdown rules have been put in place she has not been able to.

Murielle said ” As a mother it can be tough to keep up with all my children needs alone. I not only have financial responsibility but also worry about their mental health and mine.”

Murielle hopes better days will come soon.

Gingerbread charity have also released a video on the top 5 questions that single parents may ask themselves.

For any information on how to get support, the Gingerbread charity provides information to help single parents support themselves and their family.

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