Victorian Covid-19 lockdown: Staying positive for my charges during circuit breaker

It’s day one of Melbourne’s latest lockdown and already Kristie Young feels like climbing the walls of the home she shares with her partner and two young children.

Kristie Young at her home in Langwarrin, Melbourne, with Airlie, 3, Bowen, 18 months, and partner Christopher Morrison. Picture: Aaron Francis

It’s day one of Melbourne’s latest lockdown and already Kristie Young feels like climbing the walls of the home she shares with her partner and two young children.

However, armed with pantry supplies for baking, Play-Doh for keeping little hands occupied and a schedule for daily walks, she knows she can get through the next seven days.

“You still have to keep to your routines as much as possible or else the days blur and you just feel like you haven’t achieved anything, and I think that’s not a healthy mindset,” she says.

“Especially with the kids, I need to try and stay positive and not let them see that I’m feeling anxious or frustrated. I have to be positive for them and get different activities going.”

While Ms Young takes care of the children, partner Christopher Morrison is working from home in his administration role for the Frankston Aboriginal Association. He lost his previous job during the city’s extended lockdown last year, which was a significant financial blow for the family. This new gig had involved preparing a community lantern festival that would have taken place on Friday.

That event — along with a friend’s birthday party and a ladies’ lunch Ms Young planned to attend this weekend — had to be cancelled as millions of Victorians were forced into their fourth lockdown in 18 months.

For many Victorians, there’s an air of familiarity with these so-called “circuit-breaker” events. But some things are different. For one, the 600,000 Victorians who once received JobKeeper payments no longer have that to rely on. And while the outbreak so far is minuscule compared to last year’s infection numbers, thousands of people have been forced into strict quarantine for 14 days after visiting exposure sites.

Ms Young’s youngest child, Bowen, was only a baby when Victoria went into lockdown for the first time, meaning he’s spent a large chunk of his 18 months separated from his extended family. And three-year-old sister Airlie is only now becoming confident around people again.

“It took [Bowen] quite a while to stop crying when he saw family members because he didn’t know anyone … like his grandma,” she says.

“People like that who are close family members, he just doesn’t recognise them because he hasn’t seen them enough. It’s things like that that upset me.”

Ms Young, who is on parenting leave from her job as a teacher, will miss her mothers’ group catch-ups. “You feel so isolated,” she says.