To not understand clapping for kids

[VivienScott]

Why are we now doing this? The premise I’ve seen is that their lives have been turned upside down, no longer able to see family or friends. Isn’t that all of us? And surely if they don’t understand why we’re on lockdown, they’re not going to understand us clapping?
Hasn’t this gone a bit far?
I do have kids, and they are most definitely affected, but I don’t feel the need to clap for them especially and they don’t want me to.

maybe if they listen hard enough

im not clpping for any kids they can cope intheir houses with hundreds of tv channels and ipads

theres kids in syria, yemen dying everyday no food water or anything-we're so fucking privilidged here

What has that got to with anything?!

So our children's feelings mean fuck all because some children elsewhere are suffering?

Do you extend this thinking to your own life? I assume you never complain about anything that goes wrong in your life at all because someone else in the world is suffering more than you.

But of course you do. It's just the kids who don't matter.

It's just people trying to outdo each other's virtual signalling.

Bloody dreadful. What next?

I'm going to suggest a Let's Clap for No More Clapping session.

It just reduces the meaning and real feeling that was put into the first week because people really understood the risks being taken and care being given by all healthcare workers across the board.

Clap for pets that have to put up with their owners being in all day?

#clapforcats

Can I ask why people are bulking at showing solidarity with the nation's children specifically?

I can't speak for others, but I'm not baulking at clapping for children specifically.

I'm baulking at clapping becoming something promoted every few days, for all and sundry.

If you do something too often, it becomes meaningless.

Clapping for the NHS was a good idea - few would argue that this pandemic is much harder and more dangerous for NHS workers than even other frontline workers, let alone the general public. Clapping for others, in a situation that's difficult for everyone, has limited meaning.

The only thing I would be willing to do is a Boo for Boris. And those who voted for him.

@soupdragon. Judging by some of the answers for a proportion of respondants it is about children specifically. There's a sort of: 'Children??! Oh come now!' attitude.

There are two ways of approaching it.

1. Pointless virtue signalling (facebook boasting would appear to exemplify this) but facebook is nonsense in the main.

1. A way of spreading some positivity at a national level and demonstrating our shared experience

We already have seen that some people have become very down during this time especially those who are vulnerable with little family support. We also know that a small proportion of children will be suffering more abuse at home.

A clap once a week for a couple minutes is not actually too taxing a thing to do is it?

And I have to say the casual "they (all children everywhere) will not appreciate it" is a bit dismissive. Children experience the same emotions adults do, they just lack the context of experience.

Everyone is always going on about the mental health of young people then begrudge a little clap. Disassociative thinking somewhere.

I don’t care for the clapping but it’s very unempathetic to say that children don’t suffer. We aren’t in the UK and are just about to start week 4 of lockdown; kids aren’t allowed to leave the house and this ‘once a day for exercise’ isn’t permitted either. My toddlers have regressed through several developmental stages, are crippled with separation anxiety and have nightmares all night. I don’t even have to work (lost job) so am with them all day and we have a lot of fun, but they can’t understand why their lives have changed so much.
If they were prisoners, they would be allowed out once a day so we do recognise that this is not an OK way to treat people. Dogs can be walked multiple times a day.
Adults have emotional resources to deal with this and can talk to their friends on the phone. Toddlers can’t.
And they are doing this primarily for the benefit of other people, who themselves don’t stick to the rules.

Eh?!?

@zigaziga

Clap if you want to, don't if you don't.

If you don't want to do it don't do it. It's not actually about the people being clapped for. It's a way of scared isolated people to connect with each other and feel less powerless. If it works for them let them get on with it. We are all telling ourselves stories and doing weird little things to get through this time

GirlCalledJames . You have written exactly why I will be loudly clapping at 3pm. Kids are sacrificing their freedom to help adults (as they have to) and getting no recognition for that.

I'm baulking at clapping becoming something promoted every few days,

7 days
168 hours
10,080 minutes in a week

A clap for 2 of those minutes. For our young people/keyworkers (and doubtless to come, isolating seniors)

Nobody clapped in our streeton Thursday nobody clapped in the street over I don't think there is as many people "clapping as facebook would have us believe. There was a thread where a woman was shamed by a neighbour for not clapping is this what it has come too ?

Catherine It isn't that it's time consuming, it's that the more often you do it, the less it means.

Where do you live MrsJayy?

We had clapping, saucepan banging and fireworks in my area.

Judging by some of the answers for a proportion of respondants it is about children specifically. There's a sort of: 'Children??! Oh come now!' attitude.

Well given this is talking specifically about clapping for children they aren't going to comment on clapping for the elderly, the vulnerable, the single parents, the teachers, the supermarket workers.... that doesn't mean they don't think that would be dumb too. It's not because it's for children, it's because it's stupid and devalues the original "clap for the nhs" thing.

CatherineOfAragonsPomegranate I find it interesting. I electively home educated years ago, and it was noticable how much children were not considered truly a part of society by many. Children are seen as part of a specific framework or context until they suddenly reach adulthood. Now all children are effectively rooted at home, again the same attitude is noticable. The subtle underlying theme seems to be 'they're just children'.

I think this is probably just the other side of the coin to the way our present society treats childhood as this special time to be carefree and looked after, with no responsibilty in family life etc. In other societies, including historical ones, children would be more part of daily life but also have more responsibility/not be considered children for as long/go to work etc.

It doesn't devalue it. It's not market economics.

Didn't most of us spend our summer.holidays like this when we were kids? But stuck in watching Why don't you? Instead of xbox/ipad. I read Jane Eyre when I was 11 cos I was so, so fucking bored and had nothing to do.

My kids are missing their mates, although I'm handing over my phone for chats, but other than that are more chilled and less wound up than usual. Maybe give parents a clap for working to.make it a little easier, not kids.

Everyone is always going on about the mental health of young people then begrudge a little clap. Disassociative thinking somewhere.

No. There are ways to manage children's emotions and mental health. This is not it.

It doesn't devalue it. It's not market economics.

Of course it does. 🙄

Let's have "clap for our pets" They are exactly the same as someone risking infection every day to look after the sick 👍🏻