COVID-19 has changed the way we live in so many ways. For most people, everyday activities have become much more difficult than they used to be.

For example, going to the grocery store before the pandemic would have usually been an effortless task. Now that simple task can become much more challenging with all the new rules in place.

It has also become difficult to interact with friends and family. We have to try our hardest to maintain a six-foot difference from people that we were so used to being just inches away from before the coronavirus started.  

Even though it is hard, most teenagers are able to adapt and comply with the restrictions and guidelines that are now in place. But for younger children, it can be a little more difficult to follow these rules. 

As the current teenagers grew up, they could run around with their friends all day and not need to worry about keeping a safe distance from them. Children now don’t have the same luxuries that they once had. 

Kids now have to walk around the neighborhood on other sides of the sidewalk and sit on opposite sides of their driveway just to talk to their friends.

Many kids need to be outside and exercise their imagination with their peers instead of sitting inside all day and not doing anything. 

“It’s harder because we do our classes online,” said Samantha, a fourth-grader at NA.

For a lot of kids in elementary school virtual learning presents challenges.

Taylor, a second-grader, said, “I have to do school at home, which is harder than going.”

An additional complication is that children may feel like they are getting contrasting messages about screen time. When instruction is remote, elementary students have no choice but to stare at a screen for the entirety of the school day.

The toll that remote learning takes on younger students presents another challenge.

“It’s hard to stay home all the time and I don’t see my friends a lot,” Taylor said. 

Changes to their lives outside of school can add to the stress that youngsters are facing.

“I used to see my grandma and grandpa and also my cousins a lot more than I do now,” Samantha said, “but I can’t really anymore, which makes me sad.” 

Another hurdle children have had to overcome is wearing masks. For some, it causes anxiety. To them, it feels like they are suffocating and they don’t like the feeling of the elastic around their ears. Both Samantha and Taylor agreed that wearing masks is difficult and sometimes uncomfortable. Taylor also added it is sad not being able to see her friend’s faces. 

Sports have also become rough with having to wear a mask. It was challenging for kids to adjust to wearing masks in school, but doing the same during physical activity can be especially burdensome. Sports used to be a fun way for kids to stay active and release stress, but masks can make physical activity more difficult than fun.  

The way small children are growing up has been forever changed. Kids will continue to be challenged with how they learn and how they adapt to life during a pandemic. They will need to continue being cautious of their interactions with others and their surroundings in order to keep one another safe from contracting the coronavirus.