The Hidden Effects Of Lockdown

[naomi24]

I’ve just been watching a news report of children obliged to care for disabled parents during lockdown because grandparents and other adult carers aren’t able to come and help. Poor little kids. That’s the sort of thing that doesn’t occur to most. I wonder what other hidden effects we’re overlooking?

[woofgang]

Child carers are were a fact of life before covid :( but I agree, there are too many doing too much https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/looking-after-yourself/young-carers/

[Buenchico]

A relevant link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-52948236/coronavirus-life-as-a-young-carer-under-lockdown

Regrettably, the situation isn't really that new. Back in my teaching days, when I asked a young person why they'd not been in school the day before I'd often get the answer "I had to do the shopping for my mum". Initially I'd just protest that school finished at 3pm and the shops didn't close until 5.30pm, so that should have left plenty of time for shopping. However I began to learn from social workers that "Doing the shopping" was just a code that youngsters used to mean "Helping my mum bathe herself and go to the toilet, doing all the cooking, the cleaning and shopping, looking after my pre-school siblings, etc, etc".

Lots of people tried to improve things for such youngsters but their efforts often seemed not to yield much fruit. (I was teaching at secondary level but I found out that some of those youngsters had been doing all those caring tasks from the ages of just 7 or 8).

[fiction-factory]

Yes, when I first went into teaching I was surprised to find that some children aged 12 were classed as carers

[woofgang]

What I did used to find shocking were the disabled people who actually required their children to supply such care. They could have had adult paid carers but instead preferred that their children should do the caring.

[jno]

maybe they'd tried paid carers and had a bad experience, woofgang?

[Mamyalynne]

It never ceases to make me sad or feel very proud of what these young carers do day in day out , I went to school with children just like them.

The extra stress of the current situation can only add an extra layer of loneliness.

[woofgang]

Jno, not the people I knew......

[naomi24]

The point of the thread is being missed here. Yes, there have always been child carers - I'd rather there weren't - but lockdown has brought extra responsibilities. Any help they used to get has gone.

[teacake44]

^^ Have a word with Boris.