What a fantastic article

[Redbrickwall]

www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-moral-degeneracy-of-sacrificing-children-on-the-altar-of-covid/?fbclid=IwAR2Sf7hiL3Ma_yxMrFjBefd0wj-PUWOJKToPQ9KGEUoRz71DnJFUph94g3A

I agree with this so deeply. I am horrified by what is happening to our children

I agree that our children are suffering because of the lockdown, but so are millions of others. And what would you suggest as an alternative? Without lockdown many thousands more would die, maybe those children's parents or grandparents. It's shit but we're trying to stop people dying here. Death trumps everything else I'm afraid.

Slightly hypocritical about conservatives suddenly caring about the wellbeing of children when they've shoved through endless cuts to sure start, schools and mental health support over the last decade.

@megletthesecond
Oh I know

OP I agree wholeheartedly with the article. The disadvantaging and disregarding of our young people is indeed evil.

Thank you for posting this. I hope many people read the article and are inspired to think about what we appear to be accepting.

That is a terrible article. It's heavy on hyperbole but pretty short on facts. The issues are not a straight forward choice between two options, it's about trying to balance competing priorities. We know that lockdown is having a negative effect on education, employment, economy and health, both mental and physical but the alternative is people dying from lack of health care (from any cause) because Covid eats up available capacity.
There are no easy answers as much as we might wish there were.

@FOJN I agree that some figures in the article would encourage the reader to really think. Such as, the fact (I am looking for the source...I read it today) that more under sixties died in road accidents in 2019 than died of covid in 2020.

Children and young people do not exist in a vacuum. They have families and loved ones, some of whom are vulnerable or who will suffer horrific after effects from this virus. What effect does that have on children’s well-being? And I find it disgusting that the unacceptably high suicide rate (which predates lockdown) is being weaponised by these people to suit their own ends. Never heard from them on the issue until they want to distort the facts to support a point.

What a self centred, ignorant article.

I’m really troubled by the lack of policy for young children. They are cute the only sector of society who can’t legally meet a friend face to face because they need an adult present. This despite the fact that early years education is so much about social learning and they are least able to maintain friendships by virtual means. I think this shows they are just forgotten at every single turn.

What an absolutely deplorable load of hyperbolic shite.

It is a truly dreadful article with not a shred of intelligent thinking evident. There is plenty of evidence that lockdown works - we are currently seeing that with the reduction of cases in the U.K. And we protect the NHS not because we like it ,but because when it is overwhelmed dealing with coronavirus it can’t do all the other treatment , surgeries and investigations that it would do normally. And when ICU beds are all taken up then dreadful rationing of care decisions have to be made .
It is terrible for our young people and for education - but it is the pandemic causing the problem not the lockdown.
There is evidence for how truly awful things are when you don’t lockdown science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6526/230.full

I have been extremely concerned about children right from the start.
It is absolutely not justified or proportionate.
We should always prioritise children as any surviving society always has.

We have lost control of our senses.

The ‘what is the alternative’ crew should he thoroughly ashamed

What’s the alternative then?
Not “shield the vulnerable and let everyone else be free”, because that’s been done to death.

Come up with a solution that allows children their freedom and a normal education, in a way that doesn’t risk exponential infections of COVID-19.

We are one year into a pandemic.
One day Covid may be as unremarkable as catching a cold. We are not there yet.

@hamstersarse That is a good point - ‘as any surviving society always has’. We have forgotten that children are a) the future and b) have had fewest years, resources to date, so surely deserve their share.

Whatever you think of lockdown, that is a truly shit article.

Ha! X-posted with a “what’s the alternative crew” comment 😂

IME it’s usually shot down because there’s no answer to it.
If there was a viable alternative we’d be doing it.

I’m really troubled by the lack of policy for young children. They are cute the only sector of society who can’t legally meet a friend face to face because they need an adult present. This despite the fact that early years education is so much about social learning and they are least able to maintain friendships by virtual means. I think this shows they are just forgotten at every single turn

This. I don’t like the article and I can’t stand Laura Perins. Also it’s less the fact of lockdown per se that angers me; I agree that it’s probably the best tool with have until he’s immunity is hopefully achieved via vaccination.

But children/young people have been and are still being ignored at every turn, and their needs don’t seem to factor into policy-making at all. Every time an issue affecting young people is flagged up - be it mental health, the disaster of lost education for disadvantaged children or the emerging timebomb of stunted social and communication skills in preschoolers - it’s either shouted down or minimised.

The fallout from this for young people is going to be massive but I have no faith whatsoever that there will be any plan or additional support for them at all beyond the end of the pandemic.

The starting point should have been to comply with the human rights act:

“ Protocol 1, Article 2: Right to education

No person shall be denied a right to an education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching is in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.”

It should have been a non-negotiable. That’s it. Non negotiable. Make it work.

An alternative to closing schools would have been to pour money into proper infection control in hospitals and care homes, seeing as they are the top 2 areas for infection. That is possible. More than possible.

Yes. Agree. Denying children an education is what they are doing to cover up the fact that the NHS has been hugely unprepared for a tough winter that was entirely foreseeable given the fact that a nasty new respiratory virus has been known to be in circulation FOR A YEAR NOW.

@hamstersarse Exactly - the human right to an education should have been the starting point. Instead, almost one year on from the first lockdown, it is still being treated as a nice-to-have and not as a fundamental essential.

I find adults who say “they are fine, it’s not that bad” incredibly selfish and ignorant.

What’s odd is they seem to be the same people who used to be hyper vigilant about how PFB had done in their SATs, which have also always been pretty irrelevant.

I can only think these parents have a level of narcissism in them. Like to be seen to do the right thing but not actually thinking what is best for their children

@hamstersarse I suppose it’s about not looking to the future. Lots of parents feel that their children and teenagers are fine now - and many do seem fine. But their future has been mortgaged by a country which has borrowed deeply and will be unable to fund future health services, pensions, opportunities for our young people. This is in addition to the educational and social limits which we are imposing on them today.

What a load of absolute rubbish. The Tories weren't worried about robbing children and young people of future opportunities when they were supporting Brexit.

Conservatives have always been about family and children. I can’t see what Brexit has to do with any of this.