DERRY JOURNAL Editorial: COVID exit strategy needed for children

How do you explain a global pandemic to a five-year-old child who doesn’t understand why they can’t go out and knock for their friends to play in the seemingly unending spell of good weather that has been another cruel feature of the past few months? What do you say to a child with a disability or a condition whose day revolves a set routine? How does a teenager deal with being locked up for weeks on end unable to mingle with their pals at an age when friendship and belonging to a peer group is a big deal?

Anxiety is a huge factor that many families are dealing with right now. The coronavirus has spread its tendrils into every aspect of our lives - work, relationships, social activities and interactions. Even something as innocuous as going to the shop for food is a risky operation. And so too for our children everything has been upended, their school life, their daily routines, activity clubs, trips to the Bowling Alley or trampolining, the beach or park, birthday parties, holidays, playing in the fresh air or just hanging out with mates. It has all been taken away from them.

With a few exceptions, mostly at the start of the restrictions coming into force, our children have played their part, and it won’t have been easy on any of them or their families and carers who have had to look after for them, tutor them in schoolwork, entertain them, comfort them and deal with frayed nerves and meltdowns while trying to keep some semblance of normality. Many of those adults will also still be working themselves either at home or in essential industries and services.

COVID will have left an indelible mark on all of us when things do get back to ‘normal’. There will be fall out, and allowances will have to be made, and a plan carefully constructed and resourced to support our children and young people to try and limit the damage.