‘I feel like a bird in a cage’: East Asian parents’ experience of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK

At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was widely reported in the press that anti-Asian discrimination was being experienced around the world, leading to feelings of fear and isolation for this targeted group. This chapter shares East Asian parents’ accounts of living in Britain during the pandemic, highlighting their anxieties and concerns, and reflects on the consequent impacts. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 UK parents with East Asian backgrounds including a small number of repeat interviews from the first to the third national lockdown (2020–2022). Key themes include: (1) family vulnerability and fears of COVID-19 infection or racial discrimination; (2) decision-making regarding avoidance of COVID and anti-Asian hostility; (3) the impact of decision-making on family relationships and well-being; (4) fears relating to the potential racial climate in the future. By using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory as a conceptual lens, we are able to understand the influence and interactive nature of different environments upon the experiences of East Asian households and the role of parents themselves. In particular, our findings demonstrate the negative impact of anti-East Asian sentiments upon minority ethnic families and the importance of being culturally sensitive when managing health outbreaks within policy and public discourse.