Of all the negative impacts of lockdowns, one of the most profound has surely been the stunting of children’s educational and social development, and the suffering among the young of “vicious cycles of increasing distress“. One of the causes of “a pandemic of mental health problems” among children was the closure of playgrounds in the first lockdown, according to a parliamentary committee. The Telegraph has the story.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood is calling for practical measures to help children recover from repeated lockdowns, which have left too many confined for long periods at home.
Their report calls for the halting and reversal of closures of children’s playgrounds – saying it is now more important than ever to encourage more outdoor play.
Its authors said the decision to close off playgrounds during the first lockdown followed longer-term trends which have seen too many play areas sold off in recent years.
MPs said children growing up in the shadow of Covid needed far more help to recover from the pandemic, warning that one in six children are likely to be suffering from mental health problems – up from one in nine three years ago…
The report warns that spending on play facilities has fallen by 44% since 2017/18, with 347 playgrounds closed since 2014. It also calls for “outdoor play” to be put on the National Curriculum, warning that the lack of free play, and the amount of time spent glued to screens, is fuelling a rise in children’s mental health disorders.
Experts said the closures of children’s playgrounds and play facilities across the country during the first lockdown had exacerbated such problems, adding to frustration and anxiety.
And they said that many children had also suffered fallout from their parents’ stresses during the pandemic, with many exposed to heavier drinking at home.
Responding to these findings, the children and parents’ campaign group UsForThem said policies should be optimised to support the health and well-being of children. The closing of playgrounds, it said, is “unnecessary, unscientific and damaging to children”.
Closing playgrounds is unnecessary, unscientific and damaging to children. Free, outdoor play should be a given for children.
— UsForThemUK
We wholeheartedly agree we 'should be optimising our policies to support health and well-being'. #BECAUSECHILDRENMATTERhttps://t.co/4GaPI30ACe(@UsforThemUK) April 19, 2021
Lea Milligan, the Chief Executive of MQ Mental Health Research, is quoted in the Telegraph report saying that the problem of poor mental health among children has become an “emergency”.
The most vulnerable in our society are the ones who will be carrying the heaviest burden post-pandemic. The increase in mental illness in the UK was already an alarming trend before Covid struck. Now it is an emergency.
Without action, many of our children could face a lifetime of depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses.
Worth reading in full.
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Was wird das nächste Mal aus den Kindern? Nun?
‘what becomes of the children next time? Eh?’ Erich Kästner. Originally about wars. But we are in a war – against utter evil.
I heard from one of my German alternative news outlets recently, they were contacted by a teacher, they had 7!!! suicides at their upper school.
But just think of the countless 80 year olds saved!
I think it’s the children who are the primary objects of this evil operation. They are being conditioned and rendered compliant, so as to be controlled. It’s horrifying to think what comes next, since the closures, the masking, the testing, the isolating, the incessant propagandizing measures have not been fought.
And here “battle” is an apt metaphor!
No need to think too hard: next up is compulsory gene therapy for all kids; its already here. Replace their old fashioned and outmoded human immune systems with jabs-4-life. The most zealous idiot-parents are already offering up their masked offspring for trials. Still, the compo should buy a couple of weeks sunshine.
https://6abc.cm/3wYLvBl
Plus think of the profits from all thse antidepressants, anti-anxiety meds etc
If a proper public enquiry is ever held into the awful measures imposed over the last year perhaps it should be entitled:
“How to see the bleeding obvious”
hahaha…. a public enquiry.. haha against who?
Nobody cares. Covid. Stay Safe.
It’s a sacrifice they’re willing to make.
Busy bodies in small villages were sooo eager to put up ‘closed’ signs at playgrounds – hope they hang their heads in shame.
Many gullible parents should also hang their heads in shame because they did not challenge it or remove these signs
Busy bodies in small villages have no sense of shame. That’s why they are busy bodies in small villages. They get off on sticking their noses into other people’s business and they just love petty rules and jobsworth attitudes. I’ve yet to meet one who had a fulfilling career that added value to society. So they take out their frustrations on everyone else
Just for a bit of light relief: last summer I was with my grandchildren and family in Eyam, Derbyshire (the plague village, indeed) and we took the boys to see if their playground was open. It wasn’t; there was the usual pathetic sign saying it was closed for public safety reasons and would remain closed “until further notice”. My very smart six-year-old grandson went off around the perimeter fence. When asked where he was going he replied “I’m looking for a further notice.”