Life in Lockdown

[One thing I will always remember is] “How the front line workers sacrificed their health for their community. They put themselves and their family bubble at risk.”
(13 year old girl)

This report shares children and young people’s reflections of COVID-19 during a seven-week lockdown at levels 3 and 4 during March-May 2020 in Aotearoa New Zealand. We launched an online survey which invited children and young people aged 8-18 years of age to participate, with the support of their school or community youth organisation. We wanted to hear what children and young people’s experiences of the COVID-19 lockdown under levels 3 and 4 were and how they rated their own wellbeing during this time.

This report is intended to be useful for those focusing on COVID-19 rebuild efforts and developing new policy and services as a result. Given the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the experiences children and young people shared with us about the lockdown reflect their feelings at a specific moment in time.