The COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This chapter examines the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on childhood in five Caribbean islands with varying social structures and levels of human development, including Barbados, Jamaica, Haiti, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Primary data collected from 55 physical education teachers, presentations by children from an online Caribbean child conference held in November 2020, and existent literature are analyzed to better understand the impacts of the pandemic on families, schools, education, and recreation/leisure. Findings reveal that societal responses to COVID-19 have exacerbated childhood inequality across the chain of islands that comprise the Caribbean. The chapter concludes with suggestions on how childhood can be “rescued” in these countries. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Nazneen Khan;individual chapters, the contributors