Grandparents during Covid: 'I want to give her a hug'

Many of you have been unable to see your grandparents up close or as often this year - some of you might not have seen them at all during coronavirus.

Latest research shows that more than half of the 350,000 grandparents who use the networking website Gransnet a month, expect to be spending this Christmas alone.

For the majority of you, you may have only been allowed to see your grandparent while social distancing, unless your grandparent(s) is part of your household or your extended household, support bubble or because it's been really important that they look after you.

There have been different rules across the UK about visiting other houses during the pandemic to help stop the spread of coronavirus, especially amongst the elderly and the vulnerable.

There are a different set of rules for Christmas too, because the four nations of the UK have decided to temporarily relax the coronavirus rules for five days over the festive period.

How has spending less time with your grandparent this year affected you? How have you felt not being able to see them as much? How often have you been able to see your grandparent in real life this year? Let us know by leaving a message in the comments below.

Newsround asked children living in different parts of the UK, how being separated from their grandparents this year has affected them.

Most children told us they felt sad and that they missed their grandparents and all of them said they were excited to see them after coronavirus.

Your stories

Rahiq (left) and his brother Mahdi with his grandma before coronavirus

Rahiq is 9 years old and lives on the same street as his grandma 'Terraban' in Lancashire, but he has only been able to speak to her through a window once a week during coronavirus.

He told Newsround: "It really makes me kind of upset.

"I want to be able to give her a hug. I just want to sit and watch TV with her," Rahiq added.

His favourite thing he likes to do with his grandma is watching telly and talking about random things.

Julia (left) and her grandparents Jadwiga (grandma) and Jan (grandad)

Julia is 10 and lives in Aberdeenshire in Scotland, but her grandparents live in Poland. She told us the last time she saw them was a year ago.

During coronavirus, she explained that she has been able to chat to them using video call only.

"It has made me so sad that I have cried at times because I haven't been able to see them for so long," Julia said.

She told us she was "really excited to see them again" and playing board games with her grandma and grandad, is one of her favourite activities.

Stefan (left) and his grandma and grandad in Italy (right)

Stefan is 11 years old and lives in Leicestershire. He hasn't been able to see his grandma 'Boinya' who lives in Italy, at all this year.

He has been able to chat to his grandma on the phone or video call, but he hasn't been in the same room as her since 2019, when he came to live in the UK from Greece with his Mum.

Stefan told us "he has missed her very much," especially as his grandma helped his family travel to safety in the UK.

He added that he can't wait to spend time with his grandma in restaurants and going toy shopping, when he is able to.

Inayah with her grandma Dadi

Inayah, aged 10, hasn't been able to see her grandma, who she likes to call 'Dadi', for the last three months.

Her grandma used to live next door to her in Lancashire, but Inayah explained that her grandma travelled to Pakistan for work and "got stuck there because she wasn't allowed to fly back."

Inayah said she feels "a little bit lonely because I used to spend a lot of time with her but now I don't get to really see her." She added that she feels "really excited for her to come back soon."

Inayah's favourite thing she likes to do with her grandma is making tasty food, like rice and kebabs and sewing.

Evan with his Nana Val

Evan is 11 years old and is from County Durham in the North East. His grandma Val lives in Cornwall, which is nearly 450 miles away from him.

Like Stefan and Julia, he hasn't been able to see his nana in person during the pandemic.

Evan told Newsround he misses going to the river for picnics with her.

"I feel sorry for Nana as she doesn't really see anyone as we're not allowed to visit. I worry about her being lonely."

He said he is looking forward to seeing her and visiting the local aquarium with her again.

How are the grandparents feeling?

According to Gransnet, which is an online community website for over 50 year-olds, nearly 80% of the 1,396 grandparents who took part in their survey, have not hugged or touched their grandchildren since the first lockdown began at the end of March.

Nearly 30% of them also said they had not seen any of their grandchildren since either.

Gransnet Editor Lara Crisp said: "These results show how lockdown has had a particular effect on grandparents, who have had their physical contact with their grandchildren taken away.

"They [grandparents] worry about whether their important relationships have been permanently affected," she added.

How has spending less time with your grandparent during coronavirus affected you? How often have you been able to see your grandparent in real life this year? Let us know by leaving a message in the comments below.