Why we must do everything possible to support children - letter

There’s a general perception that kids have been whooping it up during lockdown, gyrating along with Joe Wicks and glorifying in their time off school.

Indeed, many have, I’m sure. The lucky ones.

Sadly, as recently featured in The Star, there are the less fortunate children from abusive homes, who are the exception in that they would actually be better off at school, despite its sadly necessary emphasis on social distancing.

At least they can be kept safe and can be guaranteed a good meal there.

Unfortunately though, a lot if them are not presenting at school, which can only be seen as a great worry.A recent study highlighted on BBC Look North has shown that 82 per cent of kids, especially in the primary school age, have declared they are scared and anxious amid the whole lockdown experience and Childline has had a high volume of calls.

Children relate to being terrified of themselves, their families and their friends, getting the coronavirus and even dying of it.

They miss their grandparents, who may be shielding, and their friends, and many have witnessed their highly stressed parents who fear for their jobs, their health, their homes, their future.

As the parents fear their lives falling apart, the kids are caught up in the fallout.People say they are the lucky ones in that they don’t generally get Covid, but do not realise that they are, in fact, Covid casualties, only not in the sense that they would think of.

It has got us all in its grip, one way or another. Why should the kids be any exception?

No-one knows yet how it will all pan out, or what the lie of the land is.

One of the worst parts about it is its uncertainty, its cruelly open ended nature.

Kids, in particular, want to see a beginning, a middle and an end to everything, and crave consistency, continuity, structure and routine.

Covid has left us all without any anchorage and anyone who thinks that kids haven’t picked up on this are mistaken.

The children are our future.

They will be picking up from where we leave off, so it’s all the more imperative that we have their back and that they are fully supported in the crazy, terrifying and – yes, that word again – unprecedented world Covid has thrown us all in to.

CM Langan

S8