Broadcaster Karen Koster has admitted to filtering the news during the pandemic – so her three young kids wouldn’t get too scared.
However, the Ireland AM presenter and her husband John McGuire have enjoyed lockdown with their brood – Finn, five, JJ, four, and two-year-old Eve.
Karen, 39, told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “They have definitely come on as this little threesome. Finn and JJ are closer than ever and I can really see that brotherly bond.
“They will look back on this as their six-month summer holiday, they have had a ball.”
Of course, explaining coronavirus to toddlers is no easy task and at times the
conversation was tough to avoid.
She added: “We started by saying there is a really bad cough going around and we want to make sure nobody gets it.
“Finn asked, ‘Do you mean the coronavirus?’ So obviously it had been popping up in ad breaks and they were hearing us talking about it.
“In my experience, four and five-year- old boys think they are invincible and they think they could kick it into oblivion. They are not worried in the slightest.”
Karen’s kids are at an important developmental stage of their lives, but she is not worried they might miss out on precious moments while away from normal life because they are young enough not to notice.
She said: “I am in that sweet spot where they aren’t missing a lot and us, as a five-some, is enough for them.
“They know about coronavirus and social distancing but they are still innocent about it all.
“Actually, Finn said to me, ‘What is the arch enemy of the coronavirus?’, and I said probably soap, so they have a nice reading of it.”
And the fun mum admitted that what she’s missed most about lockdown is “being spontaneous and having the freedom of going places with the kids”.
She added: “In the early days, I felt suffocated going to the same park every day while trying to make it enjoyable for the kids.
“Actually, they just stopped asking and took it for granted we were going to the same park every day.
“They got used to the new routine far quicker than I did.”
Meanwhile, in the midst of such a dreary summer, there has been some good news on the set of Ireland AM – Glenda Gilson is pregnant again.
Karen said: “I just think fair play to her, keep going while Bobby is still young and you are in that zone of early mornings and nappies.
“The trade-off I have seen for having kids close in age is well worth it.”
