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Children asked to draw their lockdown experiences to help researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic lots of things changed very quickly for everyone. We have all been advised to stay at home and most children had stopped going to school.  Staff from NHS Western Isles, and researchers from the University of the Highlands and Islands and Newcastle University, are interested to find out how children aged between 5-10 years have experienced the recent changes in their life. 

Dr Tushar Banerjee, NHS Western Isles Consultant Paediatrician, noticed that children were drawing pictures about the lockdown, and wanted to find out more. He said, “Younger children have been expressing what lockdown has been like for them in their drawings. This has been a unique time for everyone, and we want to learn from children about how they have been coping”. 

Engaging children in a creative activity during the current pandemic could help them communicate feelings safely and this is recommended by the World Health Organisation. “Making images is a wonderful way to describe a new unfamiliar experience without words, which is often preferred by younger children”, says Dr Ania Zubala from the University of the Highlands and Islands. 

Dr Simon Hackett, Consultant Art Psychotherapist, said “It is so important the we learn from the children themselves about how they have been coping during the lockdown”.​ 

Children's pictures can be submitted in a short online survey at the following link: https://uhi.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/covid-19-childrens-drawings  Study information can also be found within this link.