I am Dr Caron Carter, a researcher and senior lecturer in Early Childhood and Childhood Education. For more than a decade I have been researching children’s friendships within the 4-11 years age phase, because friendship means so much to children and impacts upon their wellbeing, development and learning. I have written and contributed to many publications on the subject.
My most recent project explored how children maintained their friendships during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research heard the voices of 10 children (7–11 years) in England regarding their friendships.
Creative participatory methods were used, including drawings, photography and collages, and accompanying unstructured interviews. The children talked about their virtual interactions, street/doorstep visits, artwork, and friendship disruption. These conversations with children are important for supporting children’s friendships during this period of ‘Covid recovery’.
This article referenced below was the impetus for developing the Children’s Friendships Matter podcast series.
Carter, C., Barley, R., & Omar, A. (2023). ‘I wish that COVID would disappear, and we'd all be together’: Maintaining Children's friendships during the Covid‐19 pandemic. Children & Society.