Abstract
The global spread of COVID-19 led to the closure of educational institutions worldwide, placing significant
stress on parents, particularly mothers, who assumed the dual roles of primary caregivers and educators for their
children. This study aims to assess the impact of children's school closures on parental well-being, taking into
account their working patterns. A longitudinal analysis was conducted using national representative data in Japan
during the pandemic. This study takes advantage of the fact that the timing of school reopening varies from region
to region, and examined the differences in the impact on parents with preschool-age children, elementary schoolage
children, those with children of different ages, and those who did not have children. The findings indicated
that, in areas where school closures continued, working mothers with preschoolers reported a statistically
significant decrease in life satisfaction. Only mothers whose working hours were limited due to reduced business
hours demonstrated an improvement in life satisfaction. Furthermore, parents with children of elementary school
age and younger did not exhibit any improvement in life satisfaction by working remotely. This is likely due to the
difficulty of simultaneously caring for children and working from home. The results indicate that when children
are absent from school, parents should also be granted time off, rather than being required to work remotely.
