Young children's lives in East London through the pandemic: Relationships, activities and social worlds

Abstract

Children's lives in the Covid-19 pandemic were subject to unparalleled restrictions on and disruption to their daily lives. This paper explores the day-to-day relational, social participation and activities of young children in one East London borough in early 2021, as told through qualitative interviews with their parents. We adopt a social-ecological model of children's development, a child rights focused understanding of well-being, underpinned by an agentic view of both parents and children. We find that for some children, parents had additional time to spend with them and new activities were possible. But for others, particularly those living ‘compressed lives’ in low-income households and over-crowded accommodation with no outside space of their own, all three aspects—relational, participatory and activities—were significantly diminished.