Cancelling Childhood?

The Association of Directors of Children's Services have produced a discussion paper entitled 'Building a Country that works for all Children Post Covid-19' (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/14/england-children-long-term-victims-covid-19). Although the focus is England, the issues have relevance across the entire UK. The paper points out that the individual experiences of children under lockdown can be very varied, ranging from subjects who have appreciated having more time with their parents to others who have been fearful for their parents or have been exposed to increased levels of abuse. Although younger people appear to be less directly endangered by viral infection, many have had impaired educations, been deprived of opportunities to socialise with their friends and live in families where poverty is more likely. Humans are a very social species, so it is hardly remarkable that some people are predicting a higher incidence of mental health problems in the children of the lockdown. The discussion paper points out that all this is occurring at a time when children's services are grossly under-funded. We (in all parts of the UK) do need to put into place mechanisms to deal with the potential aftermath.