How do you explain a pandemic to young children? COVID-19 has not only thrown all facets of regular life into a free fall, but it can be especially difficult to even explain to children given its unprecedented nature. How do you tell a child what the future holds when adults aren’t even sure?
Fortunately, the new bedtime story “The Great Realisation” offers hope and a spirit of resilience for children (and parents!) who may be feeling a bit lost or discouraged right now.
Read by British poet Tom Roberts and created by Tomfoolery, the viral video version of the bedtime tale shows a father reading a poem about COVID-19 to his son. The story beautifully illustrates a world in which a virus offered the last push needed for society to cast aside selfishness, greed, and pollution to appreciate the little things.
The video has been shared by millions and offers a vision for the future in which humans are more sustainable and have reprioritized nature and each other. Although nobody knows what a world post-COVID-19 looks like, we at the Optimist Daily are confident that we are headed Back to Better. We have seen the incredible potential of prioritizing green energy, gratitude, and collective action.
One powerful quote from the poem reads: “And so when we found the cure and were allowed to go outside, we all preferred the world we’d found to the one we’d left behind.”
If you’re looking for a new bedtime story for your kids, or are just seeking some hope for the future yourself, we urge you to follow the link below and watch the full reading for inspiration on how we can transform our world for the better as we move out of this pandemic.
