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The aim of the paper is to show the Polish story of the COVID-19 pandemic as seen through a humorous looking glass. Different stages of coronavirus presence in the media and social discourse have been accompanied by the appearance and development of jokes and memes, which illustrate the rapidly changing pandemic situation. The database consists of over three hundred memes, movies, and comments collected between February and May 2020, during the pandemic humour peak, and come mainly from private WhatsApp and Facebook accounts of the researchers. The humorous material is related to introduced restrictions, changing laws, parliamentary elections, news from other affected countries as well as seasons and festive times - especially Easter - occurring in the same period of time. The universal themes present in the humorous material travelling around the world are complemented by the strictly culturally immersed topics, reflecting the specific social and political situation in Poland. The analysis undertaken in the article focuses on various kinds of mechanisms which involve intertextuality (allusions) as well as complexity of references that function as sources of humour, with special attention being paid to cultural references, for example, films, paintings, references to political life, including those of the life under socialism as well as universal themes, such as animal memes. © 2021 Eesti Keele InstituutAƒÂ‚A‚Â. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal studies of the last decades impressively demonstrate the potentially harmful influence of early psychosocial stress on children's physical and mental health (1,2,3). Within the first year of life, children are particularly vulnerable to health-relevant environmental factors, while at the same time their resilience is not yet very robust (4). Children between 1-3 years of age are also still highly dependent on the care provided by and the relationship with their parents. Overall, children aged 0-3 years are considered a special risk group for neglect and other forms of maltreatment (5). Currently, the restrictions caused by the Covid 19 pandemic and the worsening economic conditions lead to multiple psychosocial burdens for young families (parental stress, existential worries, etc.). It can be assumed that this is reflected in both the immediate parental stress and the children's behaviour (6). Early and systematic identification of the needs for psychosocial support in families with children between 0 and 3 years of age enables the prompt initiation of appropriate support services (e.g. early intervention services, so called “Frühe Hilfen”) and can contribute to preventing negative effects on child health. Due to the regular and early access to young families via the well-child visits (so called "U check-ups"), resident paediatricians are particularly suitable for this task (7). Currently, there is no universal standardised procedure in Germany that facilitates a reliable identification of psychosocially burdened families and referral to early intervention services. Within the framework of a Bavaria-wide study, it is to be examined whether the access rate to early prevention services can be positively influenced through a specific "early prevention module". Furthermore, the longitudinal course of psychosocial stress factors in families with children between 0 and 3 years of age during the Covid 19 pandemic will be investigated. A comparison with corresponding historical cohorts will be used to determine the extent to which the psychosocial stress of families with infants and young children has changed under the current crisis conditions, how the stress factors correlate and how effective support measures initiated by the paediatricians are. If psychosocial stress in families is detected at an early stage and support measures are initiated promptly, an escalation of the stressful circumstances (risk to children's well-being) and a chronification of the existing problems can be prevented. If the "early interventions module" proves to be effective, it should be considered to include it in the standard procedure of the paediatric U-check-ups. (1) Werner, E. E. (1993). Risk, resilience, and recovery: Perspectives from the Kauai Longitudinal Study. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 503-515. (2) Laucht, M., Esser, G. & Schmid, M. H. (1997). Developmental Outcome of Infants Born with Biological and Psychosocial Risks. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(7), 843-854. (3) Laucht, M., Schmidt, M. H. & Esser, G. (2002). Motorische, kognitive und sozial-emotionale Entwicklung von 11-Jährigen mit frühkindlichen Risikobelastungen: späte Folgen. Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, 30(1), 5-19. (4) Schlack, H. G. (2009). Sozialpädiatrie: Eine Standortbestimmung. In H. G. Schlack, R. von Kries & U. Thyen (Eds.), Sozialpädiatrie. Gesundheitswissenschaft und pädiatrischer Alltag (pp. 1-8). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. (5) Münder J, Mutke B, Schone R: Kindeswohl zwischen Jugendhilfe und Justiz. Münster: Votum-Verlag 2000. (6) Papoušek, M. (2004). Regulationsstörungen der frühen Kindheit: Klinische Evidenz für ein neues diagnostisches Konzept. In: M. Papoušek, M. Schieche, H. Wurmser (Hrsg.), Regulationsstörungen der frühen Kindheit, 77-110. Huber, Bern. (7) Hayutin, L. G., Reed-Knight, B., Blount, R. L., Lewis, J. & McCormick, M. L. (2009). Increasing Parent–Pediatrician Communication about Children’s Psychosocial Problems. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 34 (10), 1155-1164.