The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Families: Young People’s Experiences in Estonia

Abstract

This articles reflects the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the everyday lives of children and their families in Estonia during lockdown in spring 2020 and 2021. The data corpus is based on diaries compiled by children during the first lockdown in 2020 for a collection at the Estonian Literary Museum, and on a series of semi-structured interviews with children documenting their experiences during lockdown in spring 2021. The study draws on literature from the “new sociology of childhood” and applies Bronfenbrenner’s social ecological model to an analysis of young people’s experiences when their mobility outside the home was restricted, and they were forced to reorganise their time use. The findings show how the pandemic extended the social contexts in which children and their families are embedded and highlighted the role played by socio-cultural factors in shaping children’s coping capacities. In combination, analysis of the two datasets demonstrated the differential effects of lockdown on young children. The accounts from the first wave of the pandemic in 2020 suggested that positive family environments could smooth the negative effects of lockdown and help them cope with unexpected changes in their everyday lives. The interviews during the second outbreak of the pandemic revealed how the emerging weariness and boredom reported by some children strained family relationships. The amount of time that children spent online both modified and expanded their experiences of technology-supported interactive spaces. Their reports showed that the interactive contexts in which they were operating through social media extended beyond national borders to an interest in transnational and global events. Online communication did not, however, compensate for the loss of real-life contacts with friends, which became a major concern for young people in Estonia. In the concluding discussion, the authors consider policy responses that address the main issues identified in the research.

Parental Perspectives of the Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Food-Related Behaviors: Systematic Review

“…Moreover, short-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on PA and SB in children have been observed, which may become permanently entrenched if proper measures are not taken into account [ 52 ]. Evidence shows that positive family environments could help children cope with unexpected disturbances in their daily life under lockdown; however, the emerging weariness and boredom reported by some children in the second wave of the lockdown strained family relationships [ 53 ]. Moving forward, in addition to promoting PA and reducing SB in children, programmatic and policy strategies should focus on time management skills, including educating parents and children on how to manage free time to continue having positive family interactions and combat excessive boredom in children.…”

Systematic Literature Review on Parental Perspectives of the Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Food-Related Behaviors

“…Moreover, short-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on PA and SB in children have been observed, which may become permanently entrenched if proper measures are not taken into account (Dunton, Do, and Wang 2020). Evidence shows that positive family environments could help children cope with unexpected changes in their everyday lives caused by the lockdown, however, the emerging weariness and boredom reported by some children in the second wave of lockdown strained family relationships (Kutsar and Kurvet-Käosaar 2021). Moving forward, in addition to promoting PA and reducing SB in children, programmatic and policy strategies should focus on time management skills, including educating parents and children on how to manage free time.…”

Fears and Assumptions in the Pandemic Crisis in Hungary

“…The amplification of the virus in several waves did not always generate the same numerical effects. Kutsar & Käosaar (2021) pointS out that the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was characterised by more intense fatigue and boredom in children, which PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences ISSN 2454-5899 influenced family relationships. The first waves of the virus caused a major shock, while the later waves were more of an adaptation and reapplication of previous 'tried and tested' crisis management methods (e.g.…”