You can spend time with your children
Building stronger parent-child bonds pay dividends in mental health outcomes over one's lifetime.
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Context
Quarantine has caused many companies to implement work from home policies, letting parents spend more time with their children.
The Argument
Quarantine offers parents the opportunity to spend more time with their children. Business trips and client meetings across the globe have been postponed, keeping parents at home with their children.
The parent-child bonds that are formed during this period will have long-term positive impacts on both the parent and the child’s mental health. Positive parent-child relationships are associated with higher levels of self-esteem in adolescents, higher levels of satisfaction, and lower levels of distress and anxiety.[1]
The memories forged during the quarantine period will have a lasting impact on parent-child relationships.
Counter arguments
The argument relies on the assumption that many children’s home lives are happy and the parents are responsible. The unfortunate reality is that many children do not have happy home lives.
Social workers and doctors across the world have recorded a spike in child abuse cases as parents and children are forced to spend large amounts of time in close confines. With the added stresses of unemployment and isolation, abusive parents are more likely than ever to take their rage out on their children, causing lasting mental health issues for the victims.[2]
Premises
[P1] Stronger parent-child bonds mean better mental health outcomes.
[P2] Quarantines allow parents to spend more time with their children.
[P3] More time together means stronger parent-child bonds.
[P4] Therefore, quarantine will have positive long-term mental health impacts.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P3] More time together doesn't mean stronger relationship bonds.