Page 5 | Did the benefits of lockdown outweigh the harm to children’s education?

PoisedKhakiUser · 2024-10-11T14:24:26+00:00

AIBU to ask whether the benefits of lockdown - saving lives and protecting health - outweighed the damage it did to children’s education and future life chances? I feel like kids lost out on so much during this time, and I wonder if the cost was too high.

Onelifeonly · 11/10/2024 16:42

I don't know if lockdown was wrong or not, but the harm caused to children and young people has been very significant and with hindsight, it appears children weren't really spreading the virus much.

Fairslice · 11/10/2024 16:42

And don't get me started on furlough!

Delatron · 11/10/2024 16:42

TheaBrandt · 11/10/2024 16:41

Hmmm. Easy to say they were not worth it but a family member was a senior doctor and in Jan 2021 he admitted his hospital was very very close to the edge. Paediatric wards meant for 3 children had 8 adults in them they were near 100% capacity. He is not one for drama but it got worryingly bad for a while. So in that context the choices made were understandable.

They were bad because we pushed the second wave in to winter through an extended lockdown.

A natural second wave in the summer of 2020 would have been better.

Cynic17 · 11/10/2024 16:44

No. Lockdown was both wicked and stupid. It damaged children and adults alike, in so many ways. And the economy still hasn't recovered, and that affects all of us.

GreenBeret01 · 11/10/2024 16:44

JustAVeryWeirdWoman · 11/10/2024 16:40

In many countries, schools are continuously closed during the summer for longer than they were during the British lockdowns. Schools here were closed for most pupils only for a few months, once in spring 2020 and once at the beginning of 2021.

I'm sorry but I don't really believe it that everyone's kids became desocialised and regressed in their learning so much during such a short amount of time simply from not being in a collective learning environment for a few months. There must be other causes.

Could it be that the rampant Covid infections themselves that children are being subjected to since they've returned to school, are affecting their health, including mentally/intellectually? There were some recent studies that show Covid infections can cause brain shrinkage and other forms of brain damage.

Could it be that the trauma of a global pandemic was, well, traumatising in general, and that the current attitude of not addressing said trauma and pretending it never happened is harming young people?

Or: could it also be that UK school itself is a harmful environment, overly crowded, conformist and abusive, and once the children had a brief escape from it, they realised how bad it really was, and didn't want to return?

No, it can't be, right? Business as usual is great, it must be the lockdowns.

Excellent points especially the last part, society as a whole does not need the modern schooling system, you only have to look at society before modern schooling and what society achieved and built etc

Delatron · 11/10/2024 16:45

Onelifeonly · 11/10/2024 16:42

I don't know if lockdown was wrong or not, but the harm caused to children and young people has been very significant and with hindsight, it appears children weren't really spreading the virus much.

Yes that’s true. Many were asymptomatic. Mine had Covid a few times, I didn’t isolate from them (like some people did - the horror) and I didn’t catch it from them.

The 2 times I had Covid I caught it from an adult in a confined space. Think a super spreader situation. That’s was quite common.

Savingthehedgehogs · 11/10/2024 16:45

JustAVeryWeirdWoman · 11/10/2024 16:40

In many countries, schools are continuously closed during the summer for longer than they were during the British lockdowns. Schools here were closed for most pupils only for a few months, once in spring 2020 and once at the beginning of 2021.

I'm sorry but I don't really believe it that everyone's kids became desocialised and regressed in their learning so much during such a short amount of time simply from not being in a collective learning environment for a few months. There must be other causes.

Could it be that the rampant Covid infections themselves that children are being subjected to since they've returned to school, are affecting their health, including mentally/intellectually? There were some recent studies that show Covid infections can cause brain shrinkage and other forms of brain damage.

Could it be that the trauma of a global pandemic was, well, traumatising in general, and that the current attitude of not addressing said trauma and pretending it never happened is harming young people?

Or: could it also be that UK school itself is a harmful environment, overly crowded, conformist and abusive, and once the children had a brief escape from it, they realised how bad it really was, and didn't want to return?

No, it can't be, right? Business as usual is great, it must be the lockdowns.

Well tell that to the families of the children that died from suicide due to the pandemic. We lost three children ( early teens) These were bright, happy kids before the lockdown. It’s unthinkable that anyone can possibly say this has been anything other than an unmitigated tragedy for most children and teenagers.

Fairslice · 11/10/2024 16:45

I'm sorry but I'm ignoring the anti school posts.

Even home schooled kids couldn't socialise together you realise?

RafaistheKingofClay · 11/10/2024 16:45

Yes. Could that have been mitigated better by not pretending Covid wasn’t an issue and being forced into longer last minute lockdowns is a different question. The answer to that is probably yes too.

There is a slight caveat in that it isn’t clear all the education issues are down to lockdowns. Covid itself may be causing a number of issues given the cognitive effects of even minor infections. The fact we are still in the middle of a pandemic is likely affecting attendance too which already known to have an effect on educational outcomes.

OrdsallChord · 11/10/2024 16:47

There's nothing like lockdown other than lockdown. Three months off school where families can freely engage in holidays, socialisation, time with loved ones in other households and activities certainly isn't it.

Delatron · 11/10/2024 16:48

The anti-school posts are ridiculous! It wasn’t just about seeing their friends. For my boys all their beloved sport stopped too. They get a lot of pleasure from football, hockey etc. Everything was taken away.

Why on earth couldn’t they run around in the fresh air kicking a ball? Madness.

OrdsallChord · 11/10/2024 16:49

There is a slight caveat in that it isn’t clear all the education issues are down to lockdowns. Covid itself may be causing a number of issues given the cognitive effects of even minor infections. The fact we are still in the middle of a pandemic is likely affecting attendance too which already known to have an effect on educational outcomes.

The attendance issues aren't all down to lockdowns, absolutely not. Some of them are though, and the social contract on attendance has changed. That's important in itself, and would still be so even if all the ill effects of covid rather than the policy response magically vanished tomorrow.

Cornercandy · 11/10/2024 16:51

Heard that more kids that started school this year are not toilet trained. Erm, is that the parents' responsibly, not the schools?

Friend's DGS was born a week before the first lockdown. Friend was able to hold and cuddle him for the first few days - then bang! Only M&D and older brother could cuddle him. He seems to get more coughs and colds than his older brother when older brother was 4.5. Unsure if the lockdowns are responsible for this or not.

DoreenonTill8 · 11/10/2024 16:51

BogRollBOGOF · 11/10/2024 16:15

It fucked a generation of young people over.

Children needing support already had long waiting lists and now they have to be at crisis point to be taken notice off and then still wait years for assessment protocols to be completed. Opportunities for early interventions were missed, aggravating needs.
This affects everyone because of the additional stretch on time and resources in the education system.

All children should have had the right to return to school in spring/summer 2020 after the initial wave subsided and all children should have had the right to meet and play with their peers in the winter lockdowns.

But those speaking up about it at the time were called names like "Granny killer"

The irony for my children was that despite months of lost education and socialising, care home rules and travel restrictions prohibited them from seeing their granny again; by the time restrictions eased, granny didn't know who they were anymore and died of her terminal illness shortly afterwards anyway.

Absolutely this, and the horrific posters 'look into granny's eyes and tell her you needed to leave the house'. .
Or hate spewing me-centric posters on here screeching about how evil it was that children, even babies were in supermarkets and that they shouldn't be allowed in and left at home/outside/in the car!!
'I'M ECV!! DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE?!! LEAVE YOUR BABY IN THE CAR!!'.

Namenamchange · 11/10/2024 16:52

I think if youre worried about Childrens mental health we need to stop blaming Covid, and start looking at phones, social media, parental support and parental choices, poverty and social housing. Along with learning the trades at school rather the the constant push for academics

MrTiddlesTheCat · 11/10/2024 16:52

How much was the first school lockdown driven by parents? I know that many children were being kept home before it happened. Did the government cave in to pressure.

In Sweden it was the same to begin with. Lots of parents kept their kids home out of understandable fear. But the health authority refused to bow to pressure. Although they did turn a blind eye to kids being kept off, which is normally not allowed at all. But after a few weeks most kids were back at school as parents felt safer and the reality of home schooling kicked in.

LetsSeeHowFarWeveCome · 11/10/2024 16:53

I think the 1st lockdown was necessary as the NHS was quickly overwhelmed; it couldn't handle any more than it already was and even more people would have died. Probably alone in hospital corridors and homes.

Once the vaccines were available and taken up, it made the virus less dangerous to most, and no lockdowns should ever have taken place after that point. I think that is where we went wrong.

EasternStandard · 11/10/2024 16:53

GreenBeret01 · 11/10/2024 16:44

Excellent points especially the last part, society as a whole does not need the modern schooling system, you only have to look at society before modern schooling and what society achieved and built etc

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This is just too random

Healingsfall · 11/10/2024 16:53

GreenBeret01 · 11/10/2024 16:44

Excellent points especially the last part, society as a whole does not need the modern schooling system, you only have to look at society before modern schooling and what society achieved and built etc

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We need schools, but I do agree that for some who absolute hate/do not thrive on traditional schooling had time out from it and the thought of going back was something they could never fully deal with.

StMarieforme · 11/10/2024 16:53

No.

Devastated many people. I understand it was necessary at the time but there has not been enough input afterwards.

Fairslice · 11/10/2024 16:53

Namenamchange · 11/10/2024 16:52

I think if youre worried about Childrens mental health we need to stop blaming Covid, and start looking at phones, social media, parental support and parental choices, poverty and social housing. Along with learning the trades at school rather the the constant push for academics

Yes, all of those things can have an effect. Lockdown had a huge effect.

caringcarer · 11/10/2024 16:55

I think we needed to lockdown during the first Alpha wave then for Delta but after that I can't really think of any benefits. My foster sons special secondary school closed for 11 months. During the first lockdown they got no teaching at all for almost a year just a weekly phone call to see if they were OK. During the second wave they got 1-2 hours a day online. My foster son was very lucky I was a retired teacher and worked with him through English and Maths. My niece also got about 2 hours a day through the first lockdown and my sister asked me to give her worksheets because she was in Year 10. I can remember there were no takeaways open and we bought a pizza oven. Women had to give birth alone as partners were not allowed to be with them. I hope we never have to have another lockdown. A lot of people still suffer from MH problems as a result of lockdown.

OrdsallChord · 11/10/2024 16:55

Fairslice · 11/10/2024 16:53

Yes, all of those things can have an effect. Lockdown had a huge effect.

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Indeed. it's not either/or.

Fluufer · 11/10/2024 16:55

Namenamchange · 11/10/2024 16:52

I think if youre worried about Childrens mental health we need to stop blaming Covid, and start looking at phones, social media, parental support and parental choices, poverty and social housing. Along with learning the trades at school rather the the constant push for academics

Yes, and all of those were amplified during lockdown.

Fairslice · 11/10/2024 16:55

My neighbour was an alcoholic. She loved lockdown as she could just drink all day and didn't have to bother driving her dd to school. Some people did love it.