I normally work at home. As a voiceover actor I spend a lot of time in a little "room" reading everything from commercials to audio books.
But I have always been able to go out, go shoot video for a client, see friends etc. Recently, with the various Coronavirus rules, I've been unable to do that.
My kids are used to being home (we have homeschooled my son for the last 2 years, and my daughter is pre-school age). But even for them, this is starting to feel different. Every day seems to blend in together. And if it rains... boy it's tough. My kids are balls of energy, and being cooped up inside results in chaos!
Then, a friend mentioned that some celebrities and authors were reading stories for kids, to help parents who were just plain exhausted by all of the time spent caring for them. So I started a YouTube channel where I read a different story every night. I wrote about that recently and you can read about it here. It was something I could do to help. And hey, it's kinda fun too!
I enlisted another friend and former coworker to help. He creates the thumbnails for the videos, and helps with the descriptions and tags and other stuff in between taking care of his kids and working.
Earlier this week, he made me aware of Coronavirus: A Book for Children. It's a free information book that explains the coronavirus to children, and the cool thing is that The Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler illustrates it! I'm currently narrating a very long audiobook so adding more into my workload was going to be tough. So I asked Rui if he'd like to edit the video.
You can watch the resulting video here!
I hope this helps you explain to your kids what is going on now. Why we can't go over to grandmas or friends houses. Why school is closed. And I hope it helps calm fears, and remind us that we will get through this. It just takes time.
I've been so happy to hear from people who have appreciated the stories. From parents of young kids, whose new ritual is watching the video each night (and getting upset when I accidentally upload the wrong one! Sorry!) to adults who just find it soothing and a way to escape the weirdness we are all experiencing right now.
I think it's also important to help give back to the community. For me, this was a way I could help. But there are so many other ways to help too. From making masks, to helping keep food banks stocked, to just talking to family and friends on Facetime or whatever other video conferencing service you use.
We will get through this. As I say at the end of every video. Please stay safe and healthy. And know we will get through this!