This is Small family fun

  I travelled alone for the first time to Ipswich for the Children and Childhoods Conference, hosted by the University of Suffolk. The Open University provided me with a scholarship to attend. This post will provide a synopsis of Professor Helen Lomax's and Professor Alison Clark's keynote addresses for each day. Playful arts-based methods for child-centred research and knowledge exchange during times of global crisis Professor Helen Lomax's presentation, 'Playful arts-based methods for child-centred research and knowledge exchange during times of global crisis,' was discussed. Morgan Jones et al. (2020) suggested that policymaking is limited when children are excluded. When researching this topic, Helen came to the conclusion that using a creative method would allow children to express themselves and that their voices would be plural rather than singular, and that these voices would contain the experiences of those around them. Given the covid-19 pandemic, the ques

  Research with children and young people has a varied history across the centuries. Approaches and methods have changed as the concept of childhood have grown and expanded due to the influences of societies and cultures, how adults viewed children would dictate the extent to which children were allowed to take part in research, if at all. The challenges to children taking part in research will be discussed within this essay and will include the topics of voice and whether children who do take part in research are truly heard, agency and how research methods have been adapted to allow children more choice to participate, and ethics, how researchers deal with the issues of children consenting to participation. Children can give researchers unique views of their lives that are critical to understanding their worlds. An important feature of childhood studies is the recognition of children and young people as valuable partners in research. Using the example of looked-after children, it can