Coronavirus (COVID-19) mitigation measures among children and young people: evidence base summary

5. Compliance and Enforcement

5.1 Evidence from children and young people

The TeenCovidLife 2 survey asked young people the following questions on COVID-19 mitigation behaviours, including hand hygiene, physical distancing and use of face coverings:

• ‘Compared to before the COVID-19 lockdown, are you washing your hands more now?’ The majority of respondents (84%) responded that they were washing their hands either much or a little more now than before the first lockdown, with young girls in the sample washing their hands slightly more than young boys in the sample.
• ‘Are you trying to keep your distance from other people who don’t live with you when leaving your home?’ 65% of the sample said that they kept their distance from others most or all of the time.
• ‘How often do you wear face coverings on public transport and in shops?’ Almost everyone in the sample (94%) responded that they were wearing a face covering most or all of the time in public transport and in shops.
• ‘How much do you agree or disagree that people should wear a face covering when entering enclosed spaces (e.g. on public transport or in shops)?’ The vast majority of the sample (89%) agreed or strongly agreed with the above statement. Older participants, and in particular young girls aged 15-18 years old, reported higher percentages of agreement with the statement.
• ‘People who have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 are told to stay at home (self-isolate) for up to 14 days. They must stay at home even if they feel well. If you are asked to stay at home because you have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, how likely are you to stay at home, even if you feel well?’ Almost everyone in the sample (93%) responded that they would be quite or very likely to self-isolate if they had been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, with young girls in the sample being slightly more likely to self-isolate if needed.

The qualitative research with vulnerable groups found that most participants adhered to mitigation measures, partly because many were afraid of going out and catching COVID-19. At the same time, it was difficult for most children and young people to stay inside all the time. All participants found it hard to adhere to mitigation measures whenever (they had the impression that) other people did not do so. They expressed annoyance and frustration about other people not sticking to measures and perceived this as unfair. A common example was the impression that others were having big parties, while participants could not even meet with their extended family.

5.2 Evidence from parents

The first round of the CEYRIS^[33] of parents of children aged 2–7 ran between 22 June and 6 July 2020 (during the first lockdown) and included questions on physical distancing. This was an open sample survey and cannot be treated as representative of parents of children of this age. It was completed by 11,228 respondents.

This survey was conducted when households were permitted to meet outside with one other household under physical distancing conditions. However, the physical distancing requirement for under 12 year olds outside was removed towards the end of the fieldwork period for this survey.

Parents whose children had met up with other households were asked a series of questions about keeping their child 2 metres apart from other households.

Just over half of the parents and carers (52%) disagreed when asked whether their child did not understand the need to maintain physical distancing, while 36% agreed. 44% of parents and carers disagreed when they were asked whether they had decided not to keep their child 2 metres apart from people when they met other households, while 34% agreed.

Some findings highlighted the difficulty of physical distancing for this young age group. Specifically, the survey found:

• 76% of the parents and carers agreed that they had found it difficult or stressful to enforce physical distancing measures with their children
• The parents and carers of half of the children (50%) agreed that while they had tried to ensure physical distancing was maintained by their child, they had not been able to
• The parents and carers of just over half of the children (52%) agreed that their child had found physical distancing difficult or upsetting
• The parents and carers of 60% of the children agreed that although their child tried to maintain physical distancing, they easily forgot.

In the YouGov weekly polling from 27-28 April 2021 respondents were presented with a list of behaviours and asked which their child had done in the past week. Any which were non-compliant at that time were grouped together to provide a figure for non-compliance.

The majority of parents reported that their children had not done anything non-compliant in the last week. The poll showed that just under a quarter (23%) of parents of children under 12 years old reported that their children had met up with other children in the previous week in a way that was not within the restrictions in place. This was similar to findings from polling on 30-31 March 2021 (24%), but higher than 2-3 March 2021 and 16-17 February 2021 (8-9%), when lockdown restrictions were still in place^[34]. The most common non-compliant activity in the 27-28 April 2021 polling among children under 12 years old was meeting with children from another household in someone’s home for any reason other than childcare (14% of parents with children under 12).

In the YouGov polling from 27-28 April 2021, a third (34%) of parents of children aged 12-17 years old indicated that their child met other children in a non-compliant way, an increase since previous months (23% in 30-31 March 2021, 21% in 2-3 March 2021, 9-10% in 16-17 February 2021 and 19-20 January 2021^[35]). The most common activity outside the restrictions in the 27-28 April 2021 polling reported by parents of children 12-17 years old was their children meeting outdoors with someone from another household aged 12 years old or older and not maintaining the 2 metre physical distancing required (19% of parents with children aged 12-17), followed by meeting with someone aged 12+ indoors for any reason other than childcare (12%) and meeting up to 6 people aged 12+ from more than two households indoors in a public space (10%).

In the 6-7 April 2021 YouGov polling, 1 out of 2 parents with children aged 17 and under in the sample (49%) disagreed that they were willing to bend the rules to allow their children to spend more time with friends and family during the Easter break, while 32% agreed. In the 17-18 March 2021 polling, 54% of parents agreed that they could see no reason why their children should not meet their friends indoors if some children were going back to school and nursery, an increase from 9-10 February 2021 (36%). In the 6-7 April 2021 polling, 42% of parents disagreed that children meeting friends from school or nursery could meet them indoors during the Easter break, while 39% agreed. See Figure 5.1 below.

Chart showing the proportion of parents who strongly agree/tend to agree/neither agree nor disagree/tend to disagree/strongly disagree with the statements:

• If some children are going back to school and nursery, I see no reason why my children shouldn’t meet their friends inside (charts for 9-10 February 2021 and 17-18 March 2021)
• If my child is meeting with friends from school or nursery I see no reason why they can’t meet indoors during the Easter break (chart for 6-7 April 2021).

The chart contains 3 charts. The data are from YouGov weekly polling.

Source: YouGov polling. Sample sizes: 9-10 February 2021 155; 17-18 March 2021 163; 6-7 April 2021 182. ‘Not applicable’ option excluded.

In the qualitative research with vulnerable groups conducted by third sector organisations in 2021, some parents/carers mentioned that it was difficult for children to adhere to the same restrictions as adults. It was also difficult when their children’s peers did not adhere to the rules.

“I don’t know what I can say to make people take it more seriously. It’s not fair when I have things I want and need to do, but other people are still doing what they want.”

(Parent with physical/mental illness)

Families who had been shielding described this as very difficult. Parents worried about the negative consequences of their children staying inside all the time and others not adhering to physical distancing measures. Public transport restrictions had a negative impact on one family without access to a car.