What kids are telling us about their pandemic lives

Children have spent more than a year living through a pandemic, their parents worrying about the impact of fear and isolation on their young ones. Photographer Kate T. Parker asked kids to share their thoughts in their own words. Here's what they told her.

Our kids have learned a lot during the pandemic. Many have gotten closer to their siblings and others fought more with them; they have loved spending more time with their parents at home and gotten sick of only having their families to talk to -- just like adults. Some of these parents have cancer. Others are first responders or live with lupus or other health conditions. In quarantine, these children have worried about losing their parents to the pandemic. These kids have seen if their communities mask up and practice social distancing -- and if those communities want to keep them safe -- or not.