Sad kids have to live through this pandemic

[Anonymous]

Golly there’s never been a better time to live through a pandemic. Your kids take their cues from you. You set the tone and vibe for the whole family. They only know what they know so stop mourning things that they are missing. Their childhood never would have matched yours anyway. This is an opportunity to teach them how to make the best of a bad situation. How to adapt and persevere. You have a golden opportunity to give them valuable skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. Don’t blow it by focusing on things that are gone or cannot be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you who had to flee war, we get it, your life sucked worse. That doesn’t mean OP doesn’t get to think her life and her kids life sucks right now, because it does. Your struggle doesn’t mitigate someone else’s struggle. OP I feel you, ive still taken my kid to do a lot of outside stuff like hikes and bike rides, but it does suck that they have had such an abnormal year and a half that is still going.

Nah, OP and you need to get a perspective, she is doing this, not covid.

DP. But there’s no denying that COVID has changed our kids’ lives and not for the better. My kids couldn’t go to school in person most of last year. That wasn’t MY choice. My DD’s dance studio closed and she couldn’t do the one activity she loves. That wasn’t MY choice. Sure, there are things within our control but a lot of it isn’t. That’s what can make it hard in kids and their parents.

MCPS and similar have done this, but I did not see that much opposition to online schools in MoCo. The poor in MCPS were given no choice. My niece and nephew in Indiana went to school all year long last year! They were, at times, in a region with high covid rates. They never closed, nobody died in their school system. They have a budget that is nothing compared to MCPS. If kids were positive they had a system in place that kids around the kid and siblings isolated. So, while I am a Bernie Bro, you need to ask yourself why were our kids denied the educational experience that they deserved. If you think covid did that, you are wrong. If you think it was justified to close schools to in-person, learning ( which is sounds like you don't) you don't get to come here and say covid ruined my kids' education last year. No, you say school boards ruined my kids'educational lives.
As for dance, you are truly equating that with a disaster? Come on, there was no reason kids couldn't play outside all summer last year. Kids in my neighborhood in MoCo sure did.

This is a very literal take on the above and largely misses the point. Of course PEOPLE made the decision to close schools. (I’m not in Moco so can’t speak to whatever point you were trying to make about that). Also, the fact that kids - mine included - got to play outside doesn’t change the fact that normal activities were canceled which can have an impact on kids. (And I certainly wasn’t equating anything with a disaster). At bottom, Covid has changed our lives. You seem to be arguing to the contrary.

Different poster. You seem to be the one who doesn’t get it. Covid did not shut down the schools. Covid did not shut down kids’ activities. Human adults did. We have known since about 2-3 months into this thing that statistically kids are NOT at risk from Covid. We COULD have kept the schools open. We COULD have kept kids’ activities going. We SHOULD have prioritized making sure things were as normal as possible FOR THE KIDS, but we did not. Instead, we did what was most expedient for the ADULTS (such as prioritizing bars and restaurants over schools and sports). Covid didn’t make those choices, adults did.

DP and yup, this. Too many adults refuse to take responsibility for their role in what happened (or lack of role by failing to advocate for better for their children). As soon as we had the option, we prioritized our kids by sending them to camps and learning hubs when school was closed and things that strained us financially but that improved the KIDS’ mental health.

I will never, ever forget how many adults prioritized their own anxiety over children’s health. Ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It pisses me off that adults are refusing the vaccine and because of them Delta is spreading. We could have been through the Worst of it by now.

How do people not understand that the vaccinated are spreading it too. Every single person I know with covid last 2 months has been vaccinated. And they caught it way late bc they never imagined they’d have it. So they likely spread it to countless others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you who had to flee war, we get it, your life sucked worse. That doesn’t mean OP doesn’t get to think her life and her kids life sucks right now, because it does. Your struggle doesn’t mitigate someone else’s struggle. OP I feel you, ive still taken my kid to do a lot of outside stuff like hikes and bike rides, but it does suck that they have had such an abnormal year and a half that is still going.

Nah, OP and you need to get a perspective, she is doing this, not covid.

DP. But there’s no denying that COVID has changed our kids’ lives and not for the better. My kids couldn’t go to school in person most of last year. That wasn’t MY choice. My DD’s dance studio closed and she couldn’t do the one activity she loves. That wasn’t MY choice. Sure, there are things within our control but a lot of it isn’t. That’s what can make it hard in kids and their parents.

MCPS and similar have done this, but I did not see that much opposition to online schools in MoCo. The poor in MCPS were given no choice. My niece and nephew in Indiana went to school all year long last year! They were, at times, in a region with high covid rates. They never closed, nobody died in their school system. They have a budget that is nothing compared to MCPS. If kids were positive they had a system in place that kids around the kid and siblings isolated. So, while I am a Bernie Bro, you need to ask yourself why were our kids denied the educational experience that they deserved. If you think covid did that, you are wrong. If you think it was justified to close schools to in-person, learning ( which is sounds like you don't) you don't get to come here and say covid ruined my kids' education last year. No, you say school boards ruined my kids'educational lives.
As for dance, you are truly equating that with a disaster? Come on, there was no reason kids couldn't play outside all summer last year. Kids in my neighborhood in MoCo sure did.

This is a very literal take on the above and largely misses the point. Of course PEOPLE made the decision to close schools. (I’m not in Moco so can’t speak to whatever point you were trying to make about that). Also, the fact that kids - mine included - got to play outside doesn’t change the fact that normal activities were canceled which can have an impact on kids. (And I certainly wasn’t equating anything with a disaster). At bottom, Covid has changed our lives. You seem to be arguing to the contrary.

Different poster. You seem to be the one who doesn’t get it. Covid did not shut down the schools. Covid did not shut down kids’ activities. Human adults did. We have known since about 2-3 months into this thing that statistically kids are NOT at risk from Covid. We COULD have kept the schools open. We COULD have kept kids’ activities going. We SHOULD have prioritized making sure things were as normal as possible FOR THE KIDS, but we did not. Instead, we did what was most expedient for the ADULTS (such as prioritizing bars and restaurants over schools and sports). Covid didn’t make those choices, adults did.

You’re conflating two different issues. As I stated above, yes, PEOPLE made the choice to close schools. We agree on that. That is different from acknowledging the general premise that Covid has changed our lives - far beyond schools, for that matter. Look at the impact it’s had on the workplace and public health, all of which also affect kids in a less direct way.

And the fact that people made the decision to close schools is inconsequential for purposes of this discussion. The OP is about feeling sadness about things kids are missing out on and how their lives have been affected. You seem to be arguing that parents shouldn’t feel that way because people made the decision to close schools…? I mean….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Golly there’s never been a better time to live through a pandemic. Your kids take their cues from you. You set the tone and vibe for the whole family. They only know what they know so stop mourning things that they are missing. Their childhood never would have matched yours anyway. This is an opportunity to teach them how to make the best of a bad situation. How to adapt and persevere. You have a golden opportunity to give them valuable skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. Don’t blow it by focusing on things that are gone or cannot be.

OP here. I agree and I'm trying very, very hard not to blow it. That is why I am here asking for support and strategies to keep going. I am working so hard to share positive messages for my kids about how we're not stuck at home, we're lucky we have such a nice place to live where we can be safe at home, etc. I model focusing on the positive and the things we have to look forward to, not the things we're missing out on. This is work and some days requires a lot of mental toughness when my kids are freaking out and I am running on empty.

[Anonymous]

The educational harm from the school closures will be generational. It's good to be realistic about this. Similarly, it's likely the health impact of covid will continue for many years, probably for our lifetimes. In other words, what your kids had before is not coming back. I don't see why you should have to pretend otherwise. Mourn it, yes, but move on. The world has irrevocably changed.

Also, climate change impact is going to make people nostalgic for covid, so consider that your kids are lucky to not have the worst of that.

[Anonymous]

I, too, feel that my kids were robbed of the childhood I had. No running nuts in the orchard, no picking strawberries that we grew ourselves. Not riding their bikes all day long and parents having no clue where we were.

[Anonymous]

Shouldn't all of you feel worse for kids who had to cope with covid and had to go to school around the world? Our kids had it good, compared to poor countries!
But, perhaps that is the thing you are missing, poor countries handled their kids' options better than one of the richest parts of the U.S!
They never let their mind of the idea that children will inherit the world, not grandmas!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I, too, feel that my kids were robbed of the childhood I had. No running nuts in the orchard, no picking strawberries that we grew ourselves. Not riding their bikes all day long and parents having no clue where we were.

I will third that. Kids are missing out in so much now and pre covid. They can't even imagine the childhood that they are missing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The educational harm from the school closures will be generational. It's good to be realistic about this. Similarly, it's likely the health impact of covid will continue for many years, probably for our lifetimes. In other words, what your kids had before is not coming back. I don't see why you should have to pretend otherwise. Mourn it, yes, but move on. The world has irrevocably changed.

Also, climate change impact is going to make people nostalgic for covid, so consider that your kids are lucky to not have the worst of that.

No. SImply no, the harm to education will not be generational. You are delusional and have no idea what causes a generational impact on anything. You are not "realistic" about anything, you simply are a person that thrives on tragedy and sees tragedy in everything. I hate to break it to you, but our American kids are not any worse than 3 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The educational harm from the school closures will be generational. It's good to be realistic about this. Similarly, it's likely the health impact of covid will continue for many years, probably for our lifetimes. In other words, what your kids had before is not coming back. I don't see why you should have to pretend otherwise. Mourn it, yes, but move on. The world has irrevocably changed.

Also, climate change impact is going to make people nostalgic for covid, so consider that your kids are lucky to not have the worst of that.

No. SImply no, the harm to education will not be generational. You are delusional and have no idea what causes a generational impact on anything. You are not "realistic" about anything, you simply are a person that thrives on tragedy and sees tragedy in everything. I hate to break it to you, but our American kids are not any worse than 3 years ago.

DP. I’m not sure either of you can make such sweeping generalizations. None of us know the true long term impact of this. And before you accuse me of thriving on tragedy, my family has largely been fine and we’ve maintain perspective pretty well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The educational harm from the school closures will be generational. It's good to be realistic about this. Similarly, it's likely the health impact of covid will continue for many years, probably for our lifetimes. In other words, what your kids had before is not coming back. I don't see why you should have to pretend otherwise. Mourn it, yes, but move on. The world has irrevocably changed.

Also, climate change impact is going to make people nostalgic for covid, so consider that your kids are lucky to not have the worst of that.

No. SImply no, the harm to education will not be generational. You are delusional and have no idea what causes a generational impact on anything. You are not "realistic" about anything, you simply are a person that thrives on tragedy and sees tragedy in everything. I hate to break it to you, but our American kids are not any worse than 3 years ago.

NP and I completely disagree PP. Do you even have kids? The isolation and lack of community based activities resulting from the pandemic have been harmful to the development of our kids. For younger children and adolescents, exposure to all types of people teaches essential skills such as communication, tolerance, conflict management, and community. Simply put, healthy individuals need to learn how to interact successfully with others, and the level of interaction necessary for healthy development has not been easy to replace for most families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think of history where so many graveyards were filled with the headstones of little children. My own great-grandmother had 6 children die in infancy and early childhood from diseases that are completely preventable now. We will get through this.

This. We live in a country where everyone can get a vaccination if they want one. Not everyone is so lucky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The educational harm from the school closures will be generational. It's good to be realistic about this. Similarly, it's likely the health impact of covid will continue for many years, probably for our lifetimes. In other words, what your kids had before is not coming back. I don't see why you should have to pretend otherwise. Mourn it, yes, but move on. The world has irrevocably changed.

Also, climate change impact is going to make people nostalgic for covid, so consider that your kids are lucky to not have the worst of that.

No. SImply no, the harm to education will not be generational. You are delusional and have no idea what causes a generational impact on anything. You are not "realistic" about anything, you simply are a person that thrives on tragedy and sees tragedy in everything. I hate to break it to you, but our American kids are not any worse than 3 years ago.

You are ignorant. There's already data on this. There will be much more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The educational harm from the school closures will be generational. It's good to be realistic about this. Similarly, it's likely the health impact of covid will continue for many years, probably for our lifetimes. In other words, what your kids had before is not coming back. I don't see why you should have to pretend otherwise. Mourn it, yes, but move on. The world has irrevocably changed.

Also, climate change impact is going to make people nostalgic for covid, so consider that your kids are lucky to not have the worst of that.

No. SImply no, the harm to education will not be generational. You are delusional and have no idea what causes a generational impact on anything. You are not "realistic" about anything, you simply are a person that thrives on tragedy and sees tragedy in everything. I hate to break it to you, but our American kids are not any worse than 3 years ago.

NP and I completely disagree PP. Do you even have kids? The isolation and lack of community based activities resulting from the pandemic have been harmful to the development of our kids. For younger children and adolescents, exposure to all types of people teaches essential skills such as communication, tolerance, conflict management, and community. Simply put, healthy individuals need to learn how to interact successfully with others, and the level of interaction necessary for healthy development has not been easy to replace for most families.

Well, and that PP isn't aware of the academic work coming out showing just how devastating DL was.