Page 38 | Anti Dementors Picnic on the Beach

DominaShantotto · 19/05/2020 12:49

Yeah it's the loss of social interaction, their friends, their routine, and even things like the park where they'd be going if school was closed for "normal" reasons that make this a huge thing in their lives. That and grandparents they can't see as well - and proportionally in the lives of a little one - it's a huge chunk of their life. Hell remember how the summer holidays felt when you were little - like a huge acre of time stretching ahead of you - and this is much longer than that with fucking nothing for them to do!

Drivingdownthe101 · 19/05/2020 12:54

this could just be being 4 years old! Does she really know that much about the current situation that she's descended into anger and malaise? If so, that's your doing

My 4 year old knows that she used to see her granny twice a week, and her grandad weekly and now she doesn’t see them at all. She knows she went to school 5 days a week and now she doesn’t. She knows she went to gymnastics on a Monday night, swimming on a Wednesday night and ballet on a Saturday morning and now she doesn’t. She knows the ballet show she has been practising for for a year has been cancelled. She knows she used to have play dates and she doesn’t any more. She knows that she used to go to playgrounds and now they’re taped up.
She’s 4, not stupid.

Bollss · 19/05/2020 12:54

Apparently it's highly unusual that my child hasn't seen another child in 8 weeks.

I mean yeah how unusual that an only child hasn't seen any kids when he's not allowed to go to nursery, all the playgrounds are shut and we aren't allowed to see family or friends.

GeraltOfRivia · 19/05/2020 13:02

We decide sod it and went and saw my daughters best friend. Her mum is a friend of mine two. They played nicely and apart but it made such a difference.

GeraltOfRivia · 19/05/2020 13:03

Too. Ugh

Nihiloxica · 19/05/2020 13:04

But TruestTheGene, he gets to see rainbows that other children have drawn in their windows.

So he knows that other children EXIST, just that he can't talk to them or see them.

Why isn't that enough for him?

Why have you failed to make him resilient enough to be happy with this?

fartingsparkles · 19/05/2020 13:04

@whoopso my 2 year old hasn't been that extremely distressed by everything going on, but still realises this isn't normal life. We used to go to play groups, the park, out for a coffee etc now we go to get a click and collect shop. And maybe for a walk. We used to see people out with our household regularly, now we don't. If we walk past the park, she is pointing and virtually trying to stick her head through the railings to get in. I don't have the news on, I haven't spoken to her about this (because she's 2!) But she knows things have changed, as do children of 3 and 4. Whether they distressed and crying at the front door to leave the house (another 2 year old) or simply desperate to go and play on the swings doesn't matter. They know this is different, and they don't like it, and they act out. That is because they are sentient beings who may not understand everything yet, but certainly pick up on enough - not simply because of the parent. Give kids the credit they deserve please.

Waleshasgonecompletelycrazy · 19/05/2020 13:08

My child is an only child and all her friends are sticking to the rules, so no she hasn't seen a child for 2 weeks apart from glimpses as they pass. I try to encourage her to be positive and think of this time as lovely family time without the restrictions of school, we do treasure hunts, crafts and online chats and classes but she needs to play with another child. She's not scared of the virus as I've told her it's like a bad cold for her but we've got to be careful because her grandparents could get quite poorly, but they'd probably be ok. I avoid playgrounds as it upsets her seeing them all taped up. As time passes I'm finding it harder and harder to keep her motivated and ok. I hope the Welsh Government ease up soon. They're opening a mental health line for children, but she doesn't want to talk to a grown up about feelings, she wants to play and lose herself in the silliness of being 8.

Waleshasgonecompletelycrazy · 19/05/2020 13:09

2 months not weeks. I'm losing it too

Nihiloxica · 19/05/2020 13:10

Imagine opening a mental health line for children while you continue to lock them up away from each other and tape up their playgrounds.

That's a kind of evil.

GoldenOmber · 19/05/2020 13:13

Yes, I do feel like mental health lines and websites with 'tips' and 'ideas' are missing the point. You can't take away most of everything that keeps children (and adults!) healthy and expect to replace it with a few online resources. In Scotland we are being pointed towards the ParentClub website, which is fine as far as it goes but like any online resource it can only go so far. "Play a family game together!" Yeah thanks.

Bollss · 19/05/2020 13:13

Our council has now just advised schools not to re open.

Are they fucking kidding me right now.

Waleshasgonecompletelycrazy · 19/05/2020 13:14

@GoldenOmber - I like the ones that require hours of set up and cleaning for an activity your child will do for 10 minutes!

Donkeysplat · 19/05/2020 13:15

They're opening a mental health line for children

I just can't put the words together for what I think of that even needing to be a "thing" they have had to think about doing, I just can't.

Drivingdownthe101 · 19/05/2020 13:21

My 4 year old will not benefit from a ‘mental health line’. She will benefit from seeing her friends.

AgentCooper · 19/05/2020 13:24

A mental health line for children sounds fucking horrible. Wee ones talking to adults they don’t know down a phone, as if that replaces the normality they need.

Waleshasgonecompletelycrazy · 19/05/2020 13:24

Honestly I’m wales is government by twitter likes and memes

justasking111 · 19/05/2020 13:25

Holy crap. I put an innocent and to me factual comment on an article in the DM. It was on the lines what if women were running the pandemic in the UK. I said.

It's women that prepped for the lock down. Women that ordered the gloves, make masks. Women that say wash your hands, who wash the shopping, wipe door handles, light switches, women that entertain the kids. women quietly and stoically just got on with it as well as they could.

Well that caused a stir, men are more vulnerable dying wise, women retire earlier, women work part time in the main. Women nag, verbally abuse, etc. Not in my house I do all the work. Prove it, how can you know this? I got a ton of red arrows.

Touched a nerve there didn`t I.

DominaShantotto · 19/05/2020 13:26

A mental health line for children sounds fucking horrible. Wee ones talking to adults they don’t know down a phone, as if that replaces the normality they need.

See what good is that going to do for a child like DD2 whose language has regressed to where she can't really speak on the phone at the moment intelligibly. She KNOWS what she's feeling - she can tell you her brain is full of sad because she can't play with her friends... sitting on a telephone and having someone say "so you've told me you're feeling sad" isn't going to help her a jot!

TheAdventuresoftheWishingChair · 19/05/2020 13:27

this could just be being 4 years old! Does she really know that much about the current situation that she's descended into anger and malaise? If so, that's your doing.

Wtf!

Waleshasgonecompletelycrazy · 19/05/2020 13:29

I’m an adult and I don’t want to talk about my feelings. I want to hear my child laugh with another child and not think leaping into bushes to avoid others is normal

justasking111 · 19/05/2020 13:30

Funny you should talk about speech regression, went to drop off water squirters to DIL, she said come in theyre in the garden. 3 year old was trying to talk to me, falling over his words, his speech is suffering, I couldn`t stay, shopping in the car, but am mulling over inviting them over this afternoon to play in the garden. We have all been locked up for 9 weeks. We all thought it was coming so put up the drawbridge a bit early.

Nihiloxica · 19/05/2020 13:31

The phone line is proof that they KNOW they are damaging children's mental health by their actions and that they don't care.

It is vandalism, deliberate harm to our children, when they are at no risk.

It's so immoral.

AnotherEmma · 19/05/2020 13:32

Agree with you all about young children and mental health.

My DS is 3. He spent the first 2 weeks of lockdown asking "what are we doing today?" (because we used to do something pretty much every day), asking to go to nursery, asking to go to his usual groups and activities, to go to the park, and to see his nana. Eventually he stopped asking which was a relief but also heartbreaking.

A couple of weeks ago he started getting very distressed at bedtime and waking in the night - saying he wanted us to stay with him, and saying he missed his nana and wanted to see her.

We weighed it up - decided it was low risk (mum is 59 with no health conditions, working from home and social distancing) and saw my mum.

Did us all the world of good.

The two things that would make a huge difference to children's wellbeing are being able to see a small number of other people - for us that's nana and one or two friends with children (as he's an only child for now) - and being able to go the playground! Those two things are really not much to ask!

I also think that many will benefit from going back to childcare/school, although I know this has to be managed carefully in terms of the extra demands on teachers and the reduced staff levels due to staff who are shielding or self-isolating.

Waleshasgonecompletelycrazy · 19/05/2020 13:34

@justasking111 Have them over. It's a beautiful day and it'll do you all the world of good