why a lockdown would be catastrophic for vulnerable children

[1moreRep]

I just wanted to highlight a few reasons why a lockdown would be life threatening for some children.

i work in a role where i deal with vulnerable families

A huge portion of these don't have the internet, don't have any food in their cupboards and rely on the support of social. services.

their children would not eat if they didn't get free breakfast and free school meals

their parents would not be able to survive if they did not have alcohol (withdrawal is deadly) and be very sick if they with drew fro. drugs

needle exchanges and drugs programmes are needed for face to face support daily

if social services stopped a lot of child neglect and abuse would sky rocket.

Yes 1moreRep it makes me when people are so quick to blame the parents mothers. They have terrible lives too and frankly many are doing far better than their own parents did. MNetters wouldn't last 5 mins if they had to deal with what these young women face daily

If you are taking drugs and not feeding your child, you are not ‘doing your best’

If you are allowing your child to be abused, you are not doing your best.

School shouldn’t be a place of refuge! This is crazy thinking! We can’t close the schools and save lives because some selfish adults won’t bother to parent their kids?

No one's saying the schools can't be closed because of them, simply that their situation gets even worse if we do.

What would you do to stop this cycle?

I think we need to act far earlier and far more definitively. I do understand it’s easier said than done but the attitude that some children will be starving hungry, cold and neglected and this just happens but it’s okay schools will step in is wrong, in my view.

On another thread it was suggested that schools could stay open for children of NHS workers and vulnerable children.

How would you ensure vulnerable children came in?

i would stop giving parents so many chances you inevitably give the child none

@1moreRep
If if if...........
I think it has already been established many many times over that a lock down IS going to cause significant issues across many sectors of society. Many many points have already 'been raised'. It is clear many people are going to suffer.
You clearly dont have much information on what schools are doing to address these issues so rather than scaremongering perhaps do some research around it. Much work is going on behind the scenes to meet the needs of vulnerable kids in the [unlikely] event of school closures.

however taking children away fro. their parents even as babies has a huge detrimental impact on them (attachment etc)

There are also children in need through disability reasons. If schools were shut it will be very difficult some of those parents for whom school is the only respite/ break they get.

If/ when the parents become ill some of those will become at risk because parents may not be able to give their children the level of care and supervision they need. Some of the children's needs are too great for typical foster carers and carers with enough expertise don't exist in some areas.

sleepy excellent point, plus these families often need regular supplies of medical equipment