Looking at the Virus Through the Eyes of Children and Young People

This is the link to the short version of the video we produced thanks to funding from the Harris Museum

In so many ways the Coronavirus is changing our lives. Although it is not at the forefront of government and scientific discussions, children and young people have been affected by the pandemic.

Many children are missing their friends, school, and usual routines. This is a really tough time for many children and young people. Some children have also lost loved ones to the virus.

Children’s understanding of the world is different from adults and they deal with their emotions in a multitude of ways- some of which are hard for adults to always understand. We know that fears, uncertainty and concerns about Covid-19 can make people feel added stress and anxiety and that these can be felt by adults, young people and children of all ages. For some children and young people these feelings can be overwhelming as they become concerned about themselves, their family members, missing friends and the lack of familiar routines. Children and young people may also be picking up a lot of misinformation especially from social media. This means it can be a really scary time for children and young people.

It’s important to listen to the child or young person and reassure them that illness from CV-19 is actually very rare and generally mild, with most people having flu or cold like symptoms. It’s important that they know that many simple things can keep them safe such as hand washing and staying at home.

For these reasons Preston COS wanted to give the children and young people of refugees
and asylum seekers a chance to share their  experiences,  feelings,  memories,  impressions of life during the pandemic and the lockdown.

This is the invitation we distributed around our networks in the spring Preston City of Sanctuary – COVID 19 Memories project

Click here to see a gallery of childrens’ submissions to the project