Chapter 9: Using Visual Images to Explore Young Children’s Responses to the Covid-19 Lockdowns in New Zealand

This chapter had its genesis in the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns in New Zealand. In order to get deeper insights into how young children were making sense of their new way of life, the authors used visual text to spark conversations between children (aged between 3 and 8 years old) and their parents. The study analyzed children’s verbal and creative engagement with a series of digital picture books about a toy bear in lockdown. Using Ricoeur’s hermeneutic inquiry and writings on narrative, autonomy, and responsibility as interpretive tools, the findings highlight how young children cultivated community-responsive sensibilities during the pandemic. The participating children understood the necessity for the lockdowns, showed concern for people outside of their familial household, and, moreover, were eager to help safeguard the well-being of others. By sharing our findings, in which young children responded to the pandemic with insight and thoughtfulness, we aim to contribute to understanding young children’s developing sense of autonomy and responsibility in this unprecedented time.