2020 has been a singular year with the coronavirus emergency and the experience of the lockdown, which we will never forget, changed everyone.
Teenagers is a category that probably suffered more from this situation and this is due to the absence of physical contact and the impossibility of seeing and meeting their friends and classmates in person. In fact, the only people they were allowed to see and talk to were their family members: everyone else could be met just through a screen.
Family, parents in particular, became the main point of reference for adolescents and this certainly changed the relationships between them.The lockdown forced teens to spend more time with the family, maybe helping more with houseworks or doing together activities, like cooking or just playing, for example, instruments at or board games. But the most important thing is that family members could talk and get to know each other more because they were the only one always there. Adolescents found a sort of shelter in their parents during this situation and understood that they are more necessary and supportive than how they used to think.
Even the relationships between siblings became different and the bonds stronger. Kids had more time to spend with brothers and sisters and they had nothing else to do but play with them. For the majority of adolescents, looking after younger brothers and sisters while parents worked took part of their routines and wasn’t even that bad.
While elder siblings turned into best friends and confidants to talk to every time something was wrong, for instance arguments with parents or friends.
In conclusion, this experience has hurt us and we’ve been struggling a lot, but despite that it has had its privileges and it has changed us in a very positive way, helping us to figure out that family it is really important and will always be there for us, even in the most difficult moments, that’s why we should never underestimate or neglect it.
Ginevra Cossi 3BL
