Anti-lockdown campaigners using children to push their agenda

[noblegiraffe]

I can't be the only one disgusted with how certain groups are using faux concern about children to push the earliest dismantling of lockdown restrictions.

They are loudly catastrophising on the front pages of the press about our kids. The lost generation. £40,000 in lost earnings. Articles about schools full of traumatised kids suffering PTSD caused by lockdown.

And the solution they propose is always to re-open schools as early as possible. Even before March 8th. Regardless of covid.

Now, the situation in schools before Christmas was awful. Some areas of the country had less than 50% attendance due to the new variant ripping through secondary schools. Secondary school kids were the most infected subset of the population by far, and are now the second least infected subset of the population behind the 70+ age group after schools were closed, demonstrating that there was a massive problem with transmission in secondary schools. It wasn't good for pupils' mental health or education to be in a situation when they didn't know if they'd be in school or out at the drop of a hat. But before Christmas, there was complete media silence on the impact that this was having on children.

CAMHS has been devastated by cuts. Waiting lists are intolerable and children in dire need of support don't even qualify. Same for social care around vulnerable children.

Yet you won't hear these people clamouring for schools re-opening as soon as possible talking at all about how to improve safety measures in schools to prevent the scenario we had before Christmas happening again. You won't hear them demanding more funding for children's mental health services and for more support for social care services.

And the reason you won't hear that is that THEY DON'T GIVE A SHIT.

The reason that they want schools re-opened as quickly as possible is because the message was that schools had to open first.

They can't get what they really want open (everything else) until schools are open, hence the massive focus on schools and how terrible things are for children.

This catastrophising isn't good for parents or kids. It's scaremongering and unhelpful.

I know that there are kids (and parents) really struggling with their mental health and worried about their education. Blaring out messages about how terrible things are and how they will never recover because you want to hype up the message about schools going back is irresponsible and sickening.

We need sensible and calm conversations about how to support children and parents. We need funding for schools and massive investment in support services. We need a long-term program of recovery, not 9 months of a Catch-Up Tsar and quick fixes. We need a measured and sensible approach to schools re-opening that won't see kids in and out and in and out due to lack of mitigation measures causing rampant covid spread (particularly with the new variant).

We need these anti-lockdown campaigners to shut up and stop dominating the narrative.

@noblegiraffe couldn’t agree harder. Two secondary school teachers here with two kids in primary. Our London Borough was the worst hit in November and December. It was utterly terrible here before Christmas: in the final two weeks before the Christmas holidays our girls primary had just ONE year group not isolating. One. Out of the seven year groups and nursery class. As for our secondary.... the bubbles were less than a year group (because it’s a ten form entry school) but by the Christmas holidays 140 of the 200 staff members were isolating (because their bubbles burst) and just a handful of bubbles of pupils remained. It was a Covid blood bath. And then three days before Christmas a member of staff at our daughters primary- who was neither old nor vulnerable- died from Covid complications. Brought it home pretty hard that this woman had died because of her job and the lack of safety measures put in by this sack of shit of a government.

If we reopen schools fully too fast we will end up with that terrible situation that we found ourselves in a few months ago being replicated across the country.

@noblegiraffe

There were headlines about that

About kids' mental health and disrupted education due to inadequate mitigation measures in schools?

From the same papers now with front pages about how terrible things are for kids with schools closed?

No there weren't.

Ooh maybe that's because things are worse for children now?

@noblegiraffe I couldn't agree with you more on this: "Lots of children's mental health professionals are pleading with people to stop this damaging 'children will never recover' messaging."

In fact I wrote a little article about this exact thing

I'm disgusted by how a supposed concern for children's mental health is being pushed by libertarian Tory types who for years and years couldn't have cared less about CAMHS underfunding and other children's services / education neglect

I'm also disgusted how they're pushing a reopening without actually taking proper steps to look after children and teachers (and parents) to open up properly

As for children's mental health. Of course they are struggling. I worry as much as any parent. But how could they not? It's a bloody pandemic. In what world untouched by reality would children cheerfully be going to school as normal, with no mitigation, while people die in their thousands around them? How is that "good mental health", to ignore society around them and the needs of others? What are we teaching them?

I completely support looking after children's mental health and education- and yes opening schools. But do it properly and care when it matters, not these crocodile tears from those who never cared before and will never care in the future

Is it? Doesn't seem that way. These threads are never about the wellbeing of the children. They're generally just bitching about parents.

I read them as anger directed at the Government.

And perhaps that's because it is going to be a much bigger problem now?

It was a massive problem before. You just didn't know about it. I'm not trying to be adversarial towards you but can you see that there are swathes of parents out there - I am one of them - whose children have been suffering for years and are watching these assertions of life long mental health issues because of few months off school with slightly baffled resentment.

[quote stilllovingmysleep]**@noblegiraffe* I couldn't agree with you more on this: "Lots of children's mental health professionals are pleading with people to stop this damaging 'children will never recover' messaging."*

In fact I wrote a little article about this exact thing

I'm disgusted by how a supposed concern for children's mental health is being pushed by libertarian Tory types who for years and years couldn't have cared less about CAMHS underfunding and other children's services / education neglect

I'm also disgusted how they're pushing a reopening without actually taking proper steps to look after children and teachers (and parents) to open up properly

As for children's mental health. Of course they are struggling. I worry as much as any parent. But how could they not? It's a bloody pandemic. In what world untouched by reality would children cheerfully be going to school as normal, with no mitigation, while people die in their thousands around them? How is that "good mental health", to ignore society around them and the needs of others? What are we teaching them?

I completely support looking after children's mental health and education- and yes opening schools. But do it properly and care when it matters, not these crocodile tears from those who never cared before and will never care in the future [/quote]
An eloquent, heart breaking yet truthful post.

@faerin

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

@faerin I think @noblegiraffe is referring to the libertarian faux concern about children's mental health, by those who never gave a fuck before. NOT about the genuine concerns we all have about this awful situation

@motherrunner

Is it? Doesn't seem that way. These threads are never about the wellbeing of the children. They're generally just bitching about parents.

I read them as anger directed at the Government.

I read them as anger directed at parents too.

Parents who just want what is best for their children. But no, evil teacher hating bastards we all are.

Absolutely. When I saw Noblegiraffe was posting, my eyes rolled back so far in my head that it hurt.
Noble doesn’t want to teach kids that she is paid to teach. She’s one of those teachers that doesn’t want to do the job she’s paid for under the guise of keeping safe. I expect she actually from the NEU itself and uses Mumsnet to whip up her hysteria and agree that kids should never go back.

This is not my experience of Noble , I have been here for 18 years now and have seen many extremely helpful posts here from Noble. She was really helpful when my DD was struggling with her GCSE , taking the time to contact me off board to help and I know she has done so for many others over the years. Not to me the sign of a teacher that doesn’t want to teach the kids she is paid to teach - how do you extrapolate that from her posts?

I am aware she posted a lot in the autumn but at the end of the day circumstances have proved her right and we ended up in a right mess, much worse than last spring. It’s easy to roll your eyes at her posts and whilst I may not agree with them in their entirety always I think she has a very good point more often than not.

Personally I’m not anti lock down and I am not pro lockdown which is similar to most people I know. I hate this categorising people into 2 groups and pitting them against each other. Those who do it usually have an extreme agenda in one direction or another.

@HmmSureJan

And perhaps that's because it is going to be a much bigger problem now?

It was a massive problem before. You just didn't know about it. I'm not trying to be adversarial towards you but can you see that there are swathes of parents out there - I am one of them - whose children have been suffering for years and are watching these assertions of life long mental health issues because of few months off school with slightly baffled resentment.

Yes, I've said I was a child who couldn't access help and it has affected me ever since. I still suffer with anxiety to please don't preach to me.

It is surely better there is more awareness?

I read them as anger directed at parents too.

Try reading again, without your 'I hate noblegiraffe' glasses on.

@faerin

Lack of education? Lack of socialization? Lack of access to safe-guarding from domestic abuse? Witnessing your parents have crisis due to job loss, overwork, strain of having to parent like you don't have a job, and work like you're not a parent? These things cannot possibly cause a crisis of any sort.

Of course. But all these things are the result of us living at the moment in a pandemic

I agree 100%

Those who are so aggressively demanding schools are back are doing so as everything else will have to follow.
The same few posters that crop up on all threads like this who don't think lockdown should have ever happened and state there is no proof they work.
They're using the children suffering as it is emotive.

Now I completely agree with the schools should be going back but not until there are safety measures in place.
They cannot go back all gung ho again as we will end up back to square one.
Yes we have 15 million vaccinated but we have a hell of a lot more.
Those in ITU are not all old or have underlying health conditions
This is what pisses me off the most.

People say things like " and I think I'll be fine if I have covid"
Lots of people have thought that and have been wrong.
People need to look at the middle ground her.
Covid isn't simply a mild case or death. People are too simplistic. There are many, many people who fall in between that narrative who require medical intervention or else they would die.
Those who are old, or who have life limiting comorbidities don't have the same chances.
ITU, mechanical ventilation, trials etc because the fight would be futile.
Those who are receiving the intervention are those who without covid would be fully expected to have a long life in front of them.

still suffer with anxiety to please don't preach to me.

I didn't preach. I was carefully very polite and trying to communicate positively.

• we have a hell of a lot more not vaccinated.

@noblegiraffe

I read them as anger directed at parents too.

Try reading again, without your 'I hate noblegiraffe' glasses on.

I have read it. I've read many of your threads. They all have the same undertone of hate for concerned parents.

Who can possibly make the argument that lockdown hasn't massively exacerbated pre-existing issues?

@faerin I can. I am making that argument. Lockdown has been awful but having deaths in the thousands daily would have been much much worse. It is the pandemic that is the issue, not the lockdowns, as awful as they are

Its not faux concern but its is for thier own convinience. There were/are/will be similar situations that should concern them but during lockdown is what making them lose it.

Extreme embelishing of a true concern.

Noble is a concerned parent herself.

@stilllovingmysleep excellent post.

This is not my experience of Noble , I have been here for 18 years now and have seen many extremely helpful posts here from Noble. She was really helpful when my DD was struggling with her GCSE , taking the time to contact me off board to help and I know she has done so for many others over the years.

Thank you, FoolsAssassin

@HercwasanEnemyofEducation

Noble is a concerned parent herself.

@stilllovingmysleep excellent post.

Ah so she's allowed to be concerned about her children, but nobody else is? Right.

I couldn't agree more. The political agenda that has been using schools and children to further its own selfish gains, is disgraceful. If the government really cared about schools and the mental health of young people they would provide adequate funding. They have no interest in doing this.

She'd do better with regular sessions of PE, art, play in small groups and part time. Isolation is awful, we got turned away from school the last week of term, we had a bag full of pre packaged party cakes to hand in for the Christmas party and she cried the whole way home. Socialization and predictability is what she needs and I'd rather she have less contact time if it meant that what she did have was less likely to lead to isolating.

@NuttyinNotts so true. It the Tory backbenchers' focus was really on children's well-being, they would put their money where their words are, put in proper mitigations in schools, focus on PE and socialisation, perhaps allow them to redo the year. Instead it's "they should all go in right now en masse" with no changes to measures, just to get the economy going. Let's not pretend they actually care about our DC because they don't

You can be both a concerned parent and also see through the government BS that schools are safe.

She's posting because she is concerned about other children as well as her own.