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Analysis | We’ve been cooped up with our families for almost a year. This is the result.

Toys are neatly lined up in the Elkridge, Md., backyard of Amy Phillips in April 2020. Phillips, a mental health counselor, and her husband, a government contractor, worked from home with their four kids. They had to let their nanny go before the lockdown and it's been chaos ever since. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
Toys are neatly lined up in the Elkridge, Md., backyard of Amy Phillips in April 2020. Phillips, a mental health counselor, and her husband, a government contractor, worked from home with their four kids. They had to let their nanny go before the lockdown and it’s been chaos ever since. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

When the pandemic forced us into our homes to spend extended periods in contact only with a small circle of family members, it was one of the fastest, largest shifts of human behavior in memory. We’re just starting to understand the fallout.

  • About 1 in 8 were home alone.
  • Almost 2 in 5 were home with kids.
  • Almost half were in a household with another adult who was also suddenly sent home.
  • More than two-thirds were home with another adult, such as a stay-at-home spouse or retiree.

Source: Analysis | We’ve been cooped up with our families for almost a year. This is the result.