Kids Having a Voice about Coronavirus
At the onset of the coronavirus outbreak in March, the EACH Youth and Family Counselling Team created a survey for primary-school-aged children, called “Kids Having a Voice about Coronavirus” to identify how children were feeling and what they would like in terms of support during this time.
Due to the suspension of our regular children’s groups (Treehouse and Peaceful Kids), our team wanted to:
- explore ways to connect with this age-group that is meaningful and purposeful;
- identify specific resources they are interested in accessing for themselves that will support their mental health and wellbeing, and;
- acknowledge their experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is impacting them.
Through the survey, we were able to learn that kids were experiencing big feelings such as, sadness, confusion and worry, with most stating they were interested in hearing from other kids about what they do to manage these feelings.
In response, our Youth and Family Counselling Team have launched a project that facilitates videos created by kids, for kids, so that kids can hear their language, their feelings and their suggestions to each other.
With children at home through restrictions, social connection is limited, so many children may not be able to have their feelings normalised by peers.
This project gives children a chance to make connections between each other in a way that is validating of their experience, whilst also recognising how amazing and resilient young people genuinely are!
The Team put a call-out to the community and found three brave and enthusiastic young people who were keen and willing to participate. Their families helped and supported them through the process, and like us, are super proud of what they have achieved!
The purpose of these videos is to invite other children to watch them so they can have their own experiences and feelings normalised and validated. They also provide an opportunity for parents/carers to start a discussion with children about how they are feeling, what they miss and what they are looking forward to in the future.