Sad kids have to live through this pandemic

[Anonymous]

Covid sucks for all of us, but I'm really struggling with what it is taking away from kids. My kids have given up more than a year of early elementary school and all of the learning and socialization and guided activities and play. Their parents have been super stressed out having them home while working full-time to make ends meet, and it has changed our relationship. We have good times together, but a lot of the time we are just maxed out and don't parent well. They have to deal with so much worry about illness. One parent got asymptomatic covid and they worried the parent was going to die... but they also covered their mouths and held their breath when they were safely inside and saw the parent outside the back door (masked) coming up to get food left outside for them during a 10-day isolation. They have had to miss camp due to covid exposure. Through all of this, they have lost their sense of safety and a carefree childhood. And this is just the kids who haven't lost a loved one.

I'm really sad and scared because we don't know when this is going to be over. I was relieved when thought this school year might be semi-normal for them, but now we have delta. I don't know how to make this better for my kids when I'm overtaxed from work + parenting (quarantine) and burned out physically and emotionally from the last year plus. How do you work through these emotions and make the best of the situation?

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[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.

In understand that you want to direct your anger at those who did not take the vaccine when offered. But the delta variant did not originate here and it would be now spreading even if everyone was vaccinated. New variants continue to emerge until the whole.world is vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

In understand that you want to direct your anger at those who did not take the vaccine when offered. But the delta variant did not originate here and it would be now spreading even if everyone was vaccinated. New variants continue to emerge until the whole.world is vaccinated.

It clearly would have gone a whole lot better here if more people were vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

It makes me sad too, OP. I know that history teaches us it could be much, much worse, but I still mourn the childhood that I had hoped to give my kid. And mine is around the same age. I think about stuff like her spending her first several years of school interacting with teachers either via Zoom or in a mask. Of missing out on a lot of time with grandparents that we will never get back. And yes, of having to spend this time with adults who are stressed out and scared a lot, even as we work very hard not to expose her to that and to still make this time as special and meaningful as possible.

I try to focus on the things we've gained, if we can. For instance, she and I went hiking 1-2 times a week on weekdays last year because she was home with us for much of the year. We never would have gotten all that 1 on 1 time in nature were in not for Covid and distance learning and me getting furloughed for a long while. Now I have so many memories of walking woods with her in all kinds of weather, talking about why leaves fall of trees and trying to recite some Robert Frost from memory and listening to her sing her favorite pop songs to me and tell me stories she made up in her bed the night before.

So I'm sad about what she's missed but I'm trying not to let it obscure the fact that hey, we're still living and this doesn't have to be lost time. It's different than I planned, worse in many ways. But it's still time.

[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 is my perspective too. I read the Little House on the Prairie series with my older DS during the start of the pandemic and if that family can live in a tiny log house in North Dakota snowed in for months existing only on bread, then surely we will get through this.

We are beyond lucky and fortunate in so many ways. I try to remember this when I'm feeling down.

[Anonymous]

I don't relate to people like you at all, OP.

My husband was a war refugee as a small child. He left Vietnam precipitously on one of the last planes out. I was parachuted into a new country every 4 years during my childhood and had to adapt and be flexible. When I look at the news, I am so grateful to be here, safe, well-fed, with a roof over our heads, and no one to batter our door down and gun us down.

Your kids will adapt and be flexible, if you just let them. The pandemic will likely stay with us for a few more years. Be positive, in the sense that you will do whatever needs to be done to get through this and find the silver linings as you go. Please avoid passing on to your children a sense of trauma about this time.

[Anonymous]

Stop putting your own kiddies on your kids. Kids are resilient. My kids have really had a great time during the last 1.5 years - they were able to play outside almost every day and meet up with friends. Less structured activities. They’ve been thriving

[Anonymous]

Just to note that there are many countries where kids have gone to school and are going to school just like normal with much less disruption. Kids here too never stopped going to school. Closing schools was a choice, not an act of god.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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 is my perspective too. I read the Little House on the Prairie series with my older DS during the start of the pandemic and if that family can live in a tiny log house in North Dakota snowed in for months existing only on bread, then surely we will get through this.

We are beyond lucky and fortunate in so many ways. I try to remember this when I'm feeling down.

Ha, I referenced the isolation of prairie settlers often in the pandemic too. I hadn’t considered how kids used to die and suffer (Laura’s sister went blind from scarlet fever, ie a case of untreated strep throat)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop putting your own kiddies on your kids. Kids are resilient. My kids have really had a great time during the last 1.5 years - they were able to play outside almost every day and meet up with friends. Less structured activities. They’ve been thriving

My son has autism and does not have a set of friends he can “meet up with.” And on top of that, he is getting just plain depressed now - which I imagine is true for many NT kids. Depression is not one of his challenges normally.

I’m very sad for him, but also angry that this area made it harder on kids.

[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.

It pisses me off people cannot cool it with their behavior to help keep our kids health and those who are vaccinated healthy. Unvaccinated in this area are not the issue and there are plenty of vaccinated cases so we need those not vaccinated to get vaccinated and everyone to cool it for a few months so we can try to beat this. AND, we need to get vaccines to other countries given US citizens feel the need to travel abroad and bring it back. Its not as simple as just getting unvaccinated vaccinated anymore.

It truly sucks. Some of us have kept our kids home for over a year and are easily looking at another year. At this point, we are not sending our kids back and have zero plan since we are not prepared to homeschool. Never in a million years would I have considered covid.

So, I blame all those traveling, dining out, having large parties, indoor activities, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop putting your own kiddies on your kids. Kids are resilient. My kids have really had a great time during the last 1.5 years - they were able to play outside almost every day and meet up with friends. Less structured activities. They’ve been thriving

That's great your kids are having such a good time. We have heavily limited ours seeing friends as the friends families are not being careful. Kids are resilient but at some point, only so much some of us can take due to others selfish behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It pisses me off people cannot cool it with their behavior to help keep our kids health and those who are vaccinated healthy. Unvaccinated in this area are not the issue and there are plenty of vaccinated cases so we need those not vaccinated to get vaccinated and everyone to cool it for a few months so we can try to beat this. AND, we need to get vaccines to other countries given US citizens feel the need to travel abroad and bring it back. Its not as simple as just getting unvaccinated vaccinated anymore.

It truly sucks. Some of us have kept our kids home for over a year and are easily looking at another year. At this point, we are not sending our kids back and have zero plan since we are not prepared to homeschool. Never in a million years would I have considered covid.

So, I blame all those traveling, dining out, having large parties, indoor activities, etc.

I suggest you look at the data.