To not understand why people go on about the impact of Covid lockdown on children

[PrunellaModularis]

It comes up all the time on MN and I don't get it.

They had several months off school, couldn"t see their friends or grandparents or do clubs. Then lockdown ended, back to school, friends, grandparents and clubs.

How come people say "because Covid" to explain young people's behaviour.

Disclaimer: I'm not talking abouy kids in abusive families.

Ignore poll - don't know how to disable it!

I think being told not to go out, don’t hug relatives or friends, wave at granny through a glass window, if a relative goes to hospital or your mum had a baby they are on their own with no support, wear masks in school, class, when clubs opened back up sit 2m apart and don’t physically interact with someone, rules about not sharing pencils etc will all have had quite an impact on a child’s formative years.

I don’t think you’re really posting in good faith because to reduce a global pandemic to just a minor inconvenience seems obtuse at best.

They've had plenty of time to catch up!

Maybe you should read the timeline to remind yourself as you're definitely not describing what happened in the UK.

What if it’s not a case of catching up like my previous post?

Because studies show that the lockdowns have had effects on young people. The average reading age of children has lowered since the pandemic, for example

Surely that's due to iPad use and smartphones.

Are you really this bored on a Sunday morning before 7.30 that you feel the need to post goady threads online?

Their friends and family died.

a child in my school died.
they expected to die themselves.

i remember when they were back at school I was teaching my year 9 maths class and the deputy head came to take some kids home because they had been exposed to covid.
the rest of the class were fully 100% convinced those kids would die and they would never see them again,

I stopped the maths lesson and we talked about it.

that sort of thing leaves scars.

I feel there are covid microgenerations in that the effects on babies, children, teens and young adults were different depending on exactly how old they were during covid. As well of course as the differences in their family situation, how many people at home to socialise a baby, or how much access to tech to cope with gcse learning and revision while schools were shut.

The kids who were y11 and had their GCSEs cancelled (unprecedented and really shocking) were affected in a different way to y10s who had much of their 2 yr gcse study online and were then assessed umpteen times in class when they went back for a couple of months for school-asssessed GCSEs.

And late teens who didn’t have the pre-uni growing up experience of a gap year because what was the point when everything was shut, had a different experience from those a year or two older who had limited access to food at uni (remember that!) in deep lockdown.

Basically a lot of kids of different ages had different and challenging experiences sometimes missing things that would have helped them develop what they need for a good life.

This isn't how humans work.

This whole thread is ridiculous.

It impacted everyone differently. My DC were in school as both DH and I are “keyworkers” (hated that term). DS2 actually thrived - he was in a very small class with his best mate and got lots of 1-1 teaching which hugely benefitted him (autistic). DS1 however was the only child in his class for some time, developed OCD thanks to the constant hand washing and fear that as I work in a hospital, I’d get Covid and he’d never see me again. He was terrified of the news reports (yes we did try shielding him from it), mask wearing and even now has anxiety about being ill and still washes his hands far too much.
so yes, YABU

It’s been the get out excuse for years. It’s been 5 years and life has moved on so much yet some people are still riding this out. Only on here though. Everyone in RL can barely remember that time.

It was about a year. It was two years before we could start having people back to the flat again. Homebody child never became used to people visiting.
months of being trapped indoors 23 hrs a day watching photos of others enjoying the freedom and peace.
feeling like we had failed to protect our kids from this.

As a teacher, the expected impact that lockdown was supposed to have had on children isn’t actually showing in schools at all. National exam results haven’t changed much, children are as sociable in school as before lockdown, in primary school there’s no noticeable aftermath.
The main thing that was noticed was that children who were in Reception during 2020 needed more support when they started in year 1. That’s why the Government funded catch up tuition programmes in schools. I actually returned from retirement (I initially retired in December 2019) to support school with this, working across the Primary age ranges. We put additional support into the teaching of phonics, speech and language development, social skills and general English and maths learning. Those Reception children are now in Year 6 and in my school are predicted to get the highest SATs scores than pre lockdown. For context, I work in a very deprived area. Our school has much higher than national average FSM children, much higher SEN, much higher EAL, much higher refugee children and our families speak 33 different languages. They would have been much more impacted by covid restrictions than others. Every pupil received an internet enabled device, all families on FSM got support with an internet subscription and 95% of our children engaged with online learning. We delivered lunches daily to every family, so every family had some degree of personal contact when needed.
For the vast majority of children, lockdown was just a way of life they accepted.

OP, I think you should put the phone down @PrunellaModularis and read some psychology textbooks.

Prior to Covid, if every child who has a “few months” (read: two years) of disruption, fear and isolation, just needed “plenty of time to bounce back” (your words) then we wouldn’t have any mentally ill children, ever.

Do you understand? Child psychology as a discipline would evaporate, because all children need is “plenty of time to bounce back.”

So which is it OP?

Do you deny that children experienced any effects on their psychology during a mass pandemic where whatever your thoughts on the Government lockdown, it did involve isolation from classmates, mask wearing, and constant talk of death?

OR:

Do you admit that children experienced effects on their psychology during a mass pandemic, but instead you think they should have “snapped out of it” by now, because…. Well, it’s over?

It feels like you are being wilfully ignorant.

My DS came out unscathed and we are lucky but he missed his last year at college taking his A levels. He missed the fun time of hitting 18.

Many people had not enough space or money to ride it out in a level of comfort. Then there was the affect of fear and the unknown. Plus bereavements and illness sometimes with life changing disabilities. I am very much a resilient type but it really was the most awful time.

Agree with the PP. Look at the data. Some will genuinely have been negatively affected and that is awful. A great many others like the excuse it gives them.

My dc1 was in reception. The hardest thing was lack of contact with other children. We could hear siblings over garden walls playing together and he just had me. And I was trying to work full time in a job that was trying to pivot and adjust so had very long days.

I also had a baby at home and I think it impacted their speech. For the first 2 years of his life he saw people wearing masks rather than not. He missed out on important social learning about emotions too because you can't see behind the mask.

My ds was in year 7. Missed a full term from Easter to summer. Then missed a full term from Jan to after Easter holidays in year 8. In year 8 they had to choose their options for year 9 after missing 2 full terms. Many children did not settle fully into secondary untill year 9 as the school experience wasn't normal because of small class bubbles. My child did well on GCSE because he had support at home during online learning, many children didn't have that because of younger children at home or parents working. 2 full terms is not just a case of catching up.

Do you have children? School was shut much longer than a few months. Classes were plagued with isolation after they reopened. Are you in the UK?

Yes. DD was in year 10 first lockdown. In the UK. Her school were very slow to get their act together. Her team sport cancelled for a very long period. GCSE year very disrupted. You're doing the exams, oh no you're not, oh wait..."

But she and her friends leapt back into life as soon as they were allowed.

Lockdown restrictions in Scotland lasted almost 2 years if you include having to wear face masks in public settings and clubs being shut. My toddler wasn't able to.start nursery until age 2.5 and hadn't ever been to a playgroup or baby class so when they had to start nursery alone (no.parents allowed in or settling in sessions) it was very upsetting and they struggled.to make friends until aged 4. Older DC at secondary didn't sit any exams as they were assessed on coursework for 2 years so left school and had a huge shock at uni when doing exams for the first time ever. Clubs and music being cancelled for months tipped my 16yr old into depresssion, they didn't see the point of life without social activities. The list of impacts on young people is huge.

I think the problem is that you'll never get what feels like a decent "do over" of formative times in your life.

Oh come on!

She must have been having issues beforehand hand.

No qualification, not working, so what is she doing now to turn the situation around?

Or have you both accepted this?

For many children it felt like they were being told school was no longer safe. That alone has a massive impact.
The changes meant children at all stages had their ability to develop independence stunted.
I am a volunteer for an education business partnership we have totally shifted our focus from kids of 14-16 right down to primary school level to just get them talking to someone who is not a parent or a teacher as so many are terrified to do that.

Who is “everyone” @Isthateveryonethen …?

I could name dozens of cases of children who were defined by that time.

Again, if you knew anything about child psychology, the first seven years of your life can support or determine your outcomes.

If I reach seven in 2021, and 30% of my conscious life has been spent isolated with adults away from my peers living in fear and disrupted…

Do you think that I would “barely remember” that time?

Or perhaps, just perhaps it would define me?!

This, in spades.

It was catastrophic for many people I know and have worked with since.

Don’t be so naive and narrow minded, OP.

Unless you’re just spoiling for a fight?