Mother-Daughter Relationships Thrive Amid Coronavirus Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

Mother-Daughter Relationships Thrive During Pandemic

Quarantine activities spur deeper conversations with long-term effects

Momo productions / getty images Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. That's not as unusual as you might think with families stuck at home together for months during the , according to new research by independent cultural anthropologist Grant McCracken in Connecticut. He found the pandemic has revitalized mother-daughter relationships. Some 60 percent of mothers indicated that their relationship with their daughters has become “closer” and they feel more “connected,” according to McCracken's June survey of mothers. That survey polled mothers age 25 to 44 with a daughter age 10 to 20 living at home plus interviews with 55 other mothers by phone. Anabel Basulto, a licensed marriage and family therapist for Kaiser Permanente in Orange County, California, has seen similar positive changes among mothers and daughters of all ages. “The dynamic between mothers and daughters is very complex; it's one that goes through highs and lows,” she says. Being cooped up with each other during the COVID-19 quarantine “makes you take inventory of the little things you take for granted day to day."

Bonding moments and opportunities

Sharon Lewis and her mother, Rosetta Fletcher. Sharon Lewis and Rosetta Fletcher Why are these relationships improving? McCracken, who has studied the American family for three decades and has written 12 books, says quarantine pulled some teens away from social media and brought , promoting improved connections. At the same time, mothers who no longer commuted to work gained time with their children.
Not all mothers have forged new connections with their daughters during COVID-19. Some mothers and daughters who have “crossed swords before” are being cautious and sticking to more conventional roles, McCracken says. Others may feel the strain of too much togetherness. In addition, COVID-19 has exacerbated , such as anxiety, depression and , in women, Basulto says. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers >

Reminiscing together

Lili Chamberlain, 58, of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, says her relationship with her 19-year-old daughter, Hannah, has strengthened during the pandemic. “We spent a lot of very concentrated time together, and I think we both had to learn how to put our own needs and desires on hold a little bit and think about the necessity of the time,” Lili says. “We had to come up with a lot of activities to do together — , games, watching movies." Such activities served as a bonding moment and opportunities for mothers and daughters to share their favorite foods, films and stories. As Lewis and her mother, Rosetta Fletcher, have Zoomed from Dallas with family members and watched old movies together, Fletcher has talked a lot about growing up and her life as a child, Lewis said. "She's given to reminisce,” Lewis says of her mother. “There are some stories I've heard before and some new information. It helps fill in some family history." MORE FROM AARP AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS