Coronavirus: Lego used to explain social distancing to children

A child and a dog inside a glass jar looking out at an elderly person

A mother is using Lego to teach her children about social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cat Cook said her seven-year-old son - who has severe respiratory problems, and her daughter, four, had been in a "safe little bubble" during lockdown.

"They've been living a very sheltered life... without a care in the world."

Among the images created are a child and a dog inside a glass jar looking out at an elderly person, and two people sat on separate benches.

Two people sat on separate benches chatting

Ms Cook said the scene inside the jar was inspired after the children's grandparents came over to collect some groceries she had ordered for them.

"We left the groceries out on the doorstep for them and were then able to talk and wave at them through the closed windows.

"It was the first example they thought of when we started talking about social distancing."

Six people in a queue separated out by striped markers

Ms Cook, 42, and her family have been in strict lockdown in Surrey since a week before the official order was given by the government in March, with her husband also working remotely from home.

She said: "If and when we start going out again, it's important that they understand the importance of social distancing as my son is high risk.

"Each picture we created was inspired by my discussions with the children about social distancing and things they'd experienced or seen on the TV, like the spaced-out queues outside supermarkets."

She added that talking it through in "a gentle way" had helped give her children a better understanding of what the "new norm" looks like outside their home.

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