So it may be only natural that the COVID-19 pandemic has permeated young children’s play, with foreign words like “corona,” PCR and vaccine firmly in their vocabulary now.
Here are some of social media feeds that show how young kids are having fun in the COVID-19 era.
The “PCR” play
Plastic straws for nasal swab sticks. Pieces of paper cut in a rectangular shape with what appears to be letters T and C drawn on it. Kids at day care are acting out the COVID-19 home-test that they are required to take once or twice a week for some time now.
On social media, several parents a users have testified on the popularity of a mock COVID-19 test, which kids themselves call the “PCR play.” PCR stands for a polymer chain reaction test, which was until recently the only diagnostic test of COVID-19 recognized by the authorities here.
Twitter @JaesikKwak shares a picture of a mock COVID-19 self-test kit made with plastic straws and paper by some children.
Stuffed toys stand in line waiting to get the PCR test, as a kid recreate a testing center at home, in a post uploaded in a mom’s online community on Naver.
A video on YouTuber Marble Balloon Shop shows two children acting out the scenes at the COVID-19 testing facilities, doing the swab on a paper doll and with plastic gloves on.
COVID-themed stationeries
The invasion of COVID-19 in the children’s world is palpable at stationery shops, with a range of pandemic-inspired school supplies and toys.
By Choi Jae-hee (cjh@heraldcorp.com)