28958
Book your tickets here to the FSU’s live discussion with Matthew Goodwin about his new book. Book your tickets here to the FSU’s live discussion with Matthew Goodwin about his new book. Book your tickets here to the FSU’s live discussion with Matthew Goodwin about his new book.
  • Log in
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Forum
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

Children Should Not be Demonised

by Arabella Hastie
17 December 2020 1:12 PM

by Arabella Hastie, MSc

“Don’t Kill Granny”1 was the eye-catching phrase used by Preston Council to scare young people into sticking to the regulations back in August. Young people knew that the risk to themselves was almost non-existent. They had complied with five months of lockdown – missing out on education, exams and social development to help flatten the curve – and now they wanted to see friends in the sun. The Council and then the Health Secretary used this phrase as a deliberate policy to scare and guilt-trip our children and young people into compliance. More frighteningly, it marked a moment in the pandemic when children and young people have become the scapegoats for any increase in transmission rates. The Government2 has admitted that increasing fear in the general public was central to their strategy to ensure compliance. Still, it is low when this is targeted directly at children in a way that could scar them for life.

The calling by unions and local councils to close schools early or restart them later increases the sense that children are to blame. Indeed, Sadiq Khan was explicitly saying “if the government isn’t careful, these children will pass on the virus to vulnerable people because the rules are relaxed”.3 If Granny dies or is not able to visit because you have to isolate – then it is all your fault. A teenager I know drew how he felt being accused of killing a teacher by not wearing a mask (he’s exempt) on his first day in a new school. One glance at the child shows how humiliated he feels.

Children are egocentric and naturally tend to assume that it is their behaviour which has made something happen4 – these messages play on this fear making our children feel even more confused and concerned. One young boy tearfully told UsForThem that he didn’t want to go to school because he was scared that he’d get the virus and make everyone isolate over Christmas. But he was also terrified that school would be closed as he couldn’t bear remote schooling again. In normal times society moves heaven and earth to make sure children are in school, but in these “Alice in Wonderland” times they are made to feel guilty about wanting to be there.

Adults have taken this idea of children being “carriers” to heart, despite there being very little evidence of that, and have started excluding children from places with older people. We’ve heard of a minister asking children not to come to church as they would “terrorise elderly members of the congregation”, and four-year-olds being refused entry into shops as “children are high risk”. That four-year-old is now anxious to go to new places and insists on wearing a mask as she does not want to hurt anyone. How can that be acceptable?

School should offer all children a safe place to be, especially for those whose home life is full of fear. A sense of safety is central to our ability to learn and thrive socially. The feeling that the world is a scary place – that schools are “vectors for Covid”, as described by the National Education Union – means that children are fearful of one of the places they should feel safe. The increase in restrictions – hazard tape around play equipment, Perspex separating desks – are all triggering reminders of death, contagion and illness. Vivienne, aged eight, wrote this heart-breaking poem about making the wrong choice. No child should feel that they have to say goodbye to the light, nor that it is their action that has made this happen.

Children want to fit in,5 and being made to stand out is unsettling. Those children who cannot comply with all the social distancing regulations are singled out – often those who are mask exempt have to wear a badge, so everyone knows they are different. This must be difficult for any child and clearly has a negative impact on their psychological health.6 The idea of children being repeatedly tested over extended periods – allowed in if positive, sent home if negative – reinforces the notion that they have done something wrong or – worse – they are something wrong. A generation of children brought up to believe that they are deficient and their bodies are capable of doing terrible things to others does not bode well for their ability to grow into healthy adults. These children have lost months of education and social activity, and are now being told they are killers. As adults, we have a duty of care towards all children, and terrorising them into submission should never be part of it.

Arabella Hastie is a member of the child and clinical psychology group in UsforThem.

1 https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-young-people-warned-dont-kill-granny-as-lockdown-imposed-in-preston-12045017

2 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/options-for-increasing-adherence-to-social-distancing-measures-22-march-2020

3 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55299848

4 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022096515002623

5 Blakemore, S-J, (2018), Inventing Ourselves

6 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022096515002623

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

Latest News

Next Post

Blessed are the Prophylactic Givers for They Shall Inherit the Earth

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

 

DONATE

PODCAST

Nick Dixon and Toby Young Talk About Philip Schofield’s Swift Exit, the BBC’s Fondness for Satanists and the Target Boycott

by Toby Young
30 May 2023
2

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editors Picks

Just Stop Oil’s Hollywood Patron Has Holiday Home in Ireland That he Jets Off to “When the Going Gets Tough”

29 May 2023
by Toby Young
A participant holds a drawing depicting Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg during a protest march to call for action against climate change, in The Hague, Netherlands September 27, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

Media Bombshell: Shocking Outbreak of ‘Climate Disinformation’ in the Media, i.e., Journalists Asking Questions About Net Zero on GB News and Talk TV

30 May 2023
by Chris Morrison

News Round-Up

30 May 2023
by Toby Young

A Note to Legislators About What Ceding Power to the World Health Organisation Really Means

30 May 2023
by Dr David Bell

Rishi Sunak Backs Kathleen Stock in Free Speech Row

30 May 2023
by Toby Young
A participant holds a drawing depicting Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg during a protest march to call for action against climate change, in The Hague, Netherlands September 27, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

Media Bombshell: Shocking Outbreak of ‘Climate Disinformation’ in the Media, i.e., Journalists Asking Questions About Net Zero on GB News and Talk TV

37

News Round-Up

38

A Note to Legislators About What Ceding Power to the World Health Organisation Really Means

21

Rishi Sunak Backs Kathleen Stock in Free Speech Row

19

On Wokeness, Its Nature, and Its Prospects

11

On Wokeness, Its Nature, and Its Prospects

30 May 2023
by Eugyppius

Elon Musk’s Claim to be Defying the EU’s Censorship Code is an Empty Boast

30 May 2023
by Robert Kogon

A Note to Legislators About What Ceding Power to the World Health Organisation Really Means

30 May 2023
by Dr David Bell
A participant holds a drawing depicting Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg during a protest march to call for action against climate change, in The Hague, Netherlands September 27, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

Media Bombshell: Shocking Outbreak of ‘Climate Disinformation’ in the Media, i.e., Journalists Asking Questions About Net Zero on GB News and Talk TV

30 May 2023
by Chris Morrison

Sunak’s Solution to Food Price Inflation: Socialism!

29 May 2023
by Noah Carl

POSTS BY DATE

December 2020
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
« Nov   Jan »

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Forum
  • Donate
  • Newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Please note: To be able to comment on our articles you'll need to be a registered donor

Already have an account?
Please click here to login Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In