Children and young families have been living in isolation long enough
Most children have been out of lockdown for at least 3 weeks.
Most were in school for 4 months before Christmas.
During 'lockdown' 2 schools stayed open.
It was only in lockdown 1 that playgrounds were closed. In every lockdown we have been allowed out including for children to run around and play, albeit from a distance of others. Though in September to December and March to now children have had no SD during their school hours and play as normal in most cases.
Few children are really living in isolation - almost all have at least one parent with them, most are seeing both parents, many have their siblings. It's not ideal, but it's now someone totally in their own. Based on the parks and playgrounds round here since last summer many are mixing happily with other children. Many, based in talking with children, have seen family and friends to some extent - albeit not in the same way as normal.
I teach and almost all of our young children in school are doing well, academically and emotionally. It's not perfect but it's nowhere near the catastrophe some posters talk about. I know individuals may well have suffered. It as a whole group it really doesn't yet appear to be causing the overwhelming disasters for children as some posters want us to believe.
For almost all children this past year will be a small part of their,lifetime and by the time they are grown up it will be little more than a strange thing that happened in their past.
I'm not saying any of this is good, or that lockdown hasn't been hard. It has. For various reasons, including deaths and illness, the last year has been the hardest most challenging year I have every experienced personally. But I also know there is an end in sight, and eventually this will be a blip in a lifetime.
It's also something we have just had to go through and live through. As individuals also we can't change that so we need to change its mindset a bit and try to look for any positives, and try to see beyond this past year or so to move on from it.
Come the summer the chances of lockdowns continuing is limited. I don't think schools will ever close again in the same was ever again, from now onwards.
Last summer we were legally able to travel, visit family, see friends, eat out, go on holidays, etc. Even October half term, 5 months ago, that was allowed. There's no real reason to suppose that won't happen again this year. The numbers are falling, vaccine numbers are rising, we know more about the virus, the treatments are better known.... things are looking good for the future.