Covid: Children talk about their year through a pandemic

Like many children, six-year-old Marnie loved drawing rainbows to display in her window

In the past 12 months many have struggled to adapt to the challenges brought by the pandemic, not least children and young people.

In March 2020, the normal freedoms of childhood were suddenly curtailed by the arrival of lockdown, isolation and social distancing.

A year since the UK went into its first lockdown, five young people from North Yorkshire spoke to BBC Radio York about what they have found difficult, how they have coped, and what they are looking forward to now.

Isabella

Isabella decided to go litter-picking to tidy up her local area

Isabella, 11, from Selby, said she struggled with staying in, and said social distancing feels "weird".

"It's really weird because you have to stay apart from each other, and you just want to go closer even though you have to stay apart," she said.

A year on, she is most looking forward to "going on holiday again and sunbathing, shopping and just going out".

Isabella has been going into school through the last two lockdowns, but said it hasn't felt "normal".

"It feels really weird because you are usually sitting next to each other but you have to be two chairs apart from each other," she said.

"It's really cold in the winter because you have to have all the windows open."

The Longmans Hill Primary pupil used her lockdown time to clean up her local area by litter-picking, and has also been raising money for her gymnastics club.

"There was loads of litter around and I didn't like how it looked, so I wanted to go litter-picking," she said.

"It just looked so much better after, it looked really good."

Ruari

Ruari and his brother Isaac camped in their garden for 51 nights straight over lockdown

Nine-year-old Ruari and his brother Isaac, 12, slept in their garden for 51 nights over lockdown in a challenge which saw them raise more than £1,500 for the RSPCA.

Ruari, from Acomb, York, said the thought of Covid-19 was "terrifying", and adapting to new routines had been difficult.

"It is quite terrifying to be honest, that sometimes people close to you could get the virus and have to isolate immediately for two weeks straight.

"Just the thought of it is just really scary," he said.

"It has been really hard maintaining the 2m (6ft 6ins) distancing, especially since I didn't usually have to do it and I had to adapt, and that has been really, really hard for me."

Ruari said home-schooling was "really tough", but was also worried about the thought of not being able to return to the classroom.

"I really hope that Covid is going to be beaten, otherwise I can't see how I'm going to live my life like this, just forever, it just feels awful.

"I am really worried that my education might not be that good, and if we can't get back to school, I might be working from home all the way up to college, who knows, and I might not go into school again, which is really worrying."

Marnie

Marnie's dad, Nick, said the way children coped was "testament to them all"

Marnie, six, from Tollerton, enjoyed drawing rainbows for the NHS over lockdown, and said her mum, a teacher, helped her with schoolwork.

She liked "playing, cooking, playing cinemas and drawing the rainbows".

Not a fan of wearing masks, Marnie said it was "very hard" and was keen to get back to school.

Her dad, Nick Wood, said Marnie and her sister had been "really resilient," and had "coped with everything thrown at them".

"It's testament to all of them really," he said. "It's good to have little titbits of contact with school, with their friends on Zoom, having quizzes and conversations most nights.

"There's plenty to keep them occupied but, yeah, it's difficult. Hopefully we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel now."

Emily

On social distancing, Emily, nine, said it was "actually quite hard"

Emily, nine, from Norton-on-Derwent, said she had enjoyed having more family time, and was looking forward to the future.

"I am feeling quite confident about the next year, and even though the past few years have been overwhelming with coronavirus they have still been quite good at the same time," she said.

"People have been able to contact each other online even though they can't actually see them.

"Everyone in our house has always gone out for walks in the summer, and we have gone on lots of bike rides, and I have had lots and lots of family time which has made me really, really happy.

"I have really enjoyed it. Well, sort of!"

She said she had been trying to follow the 2m distancing rule, but like most children, said it was "actually quite hard".

Billy

Billy, 16, said a good thing to come from the pandemic was the longer cycling trips he took

Sixteen-year-old Billy, from Harrogate, said he'd enjoyed the flexibility of home-schooling, and being able to set his own routine.

"In the first lockdown, we would just be given a presentation and we would go through that, for example, in our own time," he said.

"I quite liked the flexibility of that, I could get up a bit later and I could get enough sleep and work to my own schedule.

"I have noticed, though, without the teachers there I remembered a lot less.

"This time, they have done Zoom meetings, and I remember a lot more."

Billy said he had enjoyed cycling in his extra free time, and had been gradually increasing his distance.

"When I look back at lockdown, I will remember long summer days out cycling with friends," he said.

"I will look back at stuff like that and remember the days out cycling."