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My Daughter in law's job involves working with children who have turned into school refusers or who have suffered poor mental health that has kept them out of school. Apparently the numbers of children who refuse to go to school has exploded since Covid. Presumably the number of children preferring Friday night to Sunday night hasn't changed, so what did Covid do to make children not want to go to school - apart from tell them that they didn't have to go to school? Has there been a similar decline in mental health among those who continued to go to school during Covid?

And if those of us who work shifts and therefore don't have a Sunday to have the Sunday Scaries on (often not having two consecutive days off in a week) don't dread work, then perhaps it's more to do with two days off together than anything intrinsic to Sunday?
Regarding the kids, I do think the fear and uncertainty of the times has brought about the fear of going to school.

Not only were kids exposed to daily (sometimes graphic) updates on the ongoing pandemic through media, they also experienced their parents' fear. It is not usual that children, at these relatively young ages, learn that their parents are just people with the same fears and inability to deal with unknowns.

Their (kids) safe world view was shattered. Nothing is really safe. That's a lot to deal with as a kid.
 
Regarding the kids, I do think the fear and uncertainty of the times has brought about the fear of going to school.

Not only were kids exposed to daily (sometimes graphic) updates on the ongoing pandemic through media, they also experienced their parents' fear. It is not usual that children, at these relatively young ages, learn that their parents are just people with the same fears and inability to deal with unknowns.

Their (kids) safe world view was shattered. Nothing is really safe. That's a lot to deal with as a kid.
That makes sense. I know, certainly at the beginning, none of us knew whether any of us were safe - going out to work every day was like playing Russian Roulette, and it must have been terrifying for children to not know who might be next to die.
 
My job is great fun especially since I went part-time. Can retire next year but probably won't.

Yesterday I spent 10 minutes teaching a customer to do the cryptic crossword.
Think around it, make a picture in your mind.
When I do this, people are stunned. You can see them suddenly get it. :chuckle:
I think enjoying your job is a prerequisite to good mental health and generally enjoying life. Many don't have that advantage.
It's suddenly struck me - I wonder if a lot of the poor mental health that has resulted from people being shut away during Covid is just a more extreme form of the Sunday Scaries? After all, if you were furloughed or home schooled or worked from your spare room for months, it's GOT to be that much harder to get over going back out there.

Has anyone studied the effects on those who worked in public facing roles during Covid?
I'm sure that Covid has had a major impact on the mental health of the population and has been underestimated. Seems to have affected all ages but apparently the over 55's are the worst affected.
 
Come on spill the beans. Genuine question - what's your secret in actually getting these wildly different jobs you've had?
 
Regarding the kids, I do think the fear and uncertainty of the times has brought about the fear of going to school.

Not only were kids exposed to daily (sometimes graphic) updates on the ongoing pandemic through media, they also experienced their parents' fear. It is not usual that children, at these relatively young ages, learn that their parents are just people with the same fears and inability to deal with unknowns.

Their (kids) safe world view was shattered. Nothing is really safe. That's a lot to deal with as a kid.

Wonderful: Adult hysteria about a not-particularly-dangerous “flu” has infected kids. (Or it suits kids to say so, in order to get extra attention and avoid school.) Another knock-on from the Covid panic.

During and after the head-off-chicken times, l privately wondered how soon we would see the first instance of people using Covid as an excuse when they appeared in the dock at court: “My education was interrupted/delicate psyche was damaged/family was traumatised…”

Here it comes.

maximus otter
 
Wonderful: Adult hysteria about a not-particularly-dangerous “flu” has infected kids. (Or it suits kids to say so, in order to get extra attention and avoid school.) Another knock-on from the Covid panic.

During and after the head-off-chicken times, l privately wondered how soon we would see the first instance of people using Covid as an excuse when they appeared in the dock at court: “My education was interrupted/delicate psyche was damaged/family was traumatised…”

Here it comes.

maximus otter
Will apply the other way round as well. "we didn't believe in Covid so didn't get the jabs and my father /mother/child died because of Covid so we're now suing the NHS/Government for failing to convince us to get protected"
 
School refusers.

I wish I had known about that when young.

Its a concept I can get totally behind.

Kondoru the Self Educated
If I'd have tried that when young, I'd have got the belt for sure!
 
If I'd have tried that when young, I'd have got the belt for sure!
My parents always allowed us to stay home if sick. Being that they were farmers and at home, pretending to be sick to stay home wouldn't be worth it.

A get out of jail, oops, school ticket for a day seems to be what at lot of parents now do. Even one of my sisters (and now her kids) did that.

I do feel awful for both the working parents and sick child having to send the kid to school because they have no childcare or time off from work.
 
Wonderful: Adult hysteria about a not-particularly-dangerous “flu” has infected kids. (Or it suits kids to say so, in order to get extra attention and avoid school.) Another knock-on from the Covid panic.

During and after the head-off-chicken times, l privately wondered how soon we would see the first instance of people using Covid as an excuse when they appeared in the dock at court: “My education was interrupted/delicate psyche was damaged/family was traumatised…”

Here it comes.

maximus otter
Don't know why you think my comment has anything to do with covid pandemic being used as an excuse for school avoidance. It is my comment and not taken from anywhere.

The isolation that people were made to endure has damaged people. Fear was widespread. Children don't have the coping skills that adults do when exposed to fearful situations.

My comment was that with few learned coping mechanisms and seeing that their parents were fearful and seeing that their parents had difficulty in dealing with the situation, children have suffered and it is ongoing.

I say that I was one of the lucky groups of people who (were made to) continued to work throughout the lockdowns. I saw people who had to return to work, after almost a year of not working, responding with the same reluctance to return to work. Kids are no different.
 
Sunday Scaries—you know you've made the big time when your name is used in the New York Times crossword puzzle:
NY Times Sunday Scaries.jpg
 
Don't know why you think my comment has anything to do with covid pandemic being used as an excuse for school avoidance. It is my comment and not taken from anywhere.

The isolation that people were made to endure has damaged people. Fear was widespread. Children don't have the coping skills that adults do when exposed to fearful situations.

My comment was that with few learned coping mechanisms and seeing that their parents were fearful and seeing that their parents had difficulty in dealing with the situation, children have suffered and it is ongoing.

I say that I was one of the lucky groups of people who (were made to) continued to work throughout the lockdowns. I saw people who had to return to work, after almost a year of not working, responding with the same reluctance to return to work. Kids are no different.

Please don’t take my response as being negative towards you. l agree entirely with this:

The isolation that people were made to endure has damaged people. Fear was widespread. Children don't have the coping skills that adults do when exposed to fearful situations.

My thrust was that the response by the authorities was excessive, and disproportionate to the risk. As, l believe, is now being acknowledged (reluctantly, in dribs and drabs, if one searches hard enough.)

maximus otter
 
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