It's a common saying: "Think about the children!" It's generally used to manipulate people into actin in some way, and right now it's used to get people to obey rules about masks and lockdowns and isolating ourselves.
To be clear, I agree that we're supposed to care about children: that's right and good. Children aren't able to take care of themselves very well just yet and as adults, it's our job to do for them what they cannot yet: make sure they have food, clothing, and shelter; teach them what they need to know; protect them from harm when we can.
And yet...
When I was working, I had students afraid to come into the centre because they might get COVID and maybe die. Some of them didn't want to leave their homes because that was the only place they felt safe.
There were children I didn't recognize without a mask and who didn't recognize me without a mask because we had never seen each other's faces. Teaching was a challenge because they couldn't see my mouth when I was showing them how to make sounds.
On Sunday, we had church in a clearing, somewhere off a back road, surrounded by trees, because they locked up our building and made outdoor gatherings (at least for churches) illegal. A plane flew overhead and my friend had to assure her small son that the plane was too high to see us because he was afraid of being found.
Another friend's son heard sirens one day when they were out and tensed up because he was afraid that they were police coming and all he knows of police is that they arrested his pastor and locked up his church (it was a firetruck and he switched from tense to excited).
Neighbours had a break-in so the police came, and their daughter had to check with mom that the police were there to help them, not arrest them.
One small friend had a neighbour child tell her a big secret: They were having their grandparents over to visit. That's a secret now because you can get in trouble for visiting with grandma and grandpa.
I was telling my friend's young boys about the Berlin airdrop and how the Communists were determined to blockade West Berlin until they gave up, but instead everyone helped them until the Communists finally gave up. The boys were thrilled. We talked about how sometimes, if you wait long enough, the bad guys give up, and one boy sighed, "That would be nice."
The children are learning to be afraid: of sickness, of death, of not wearing masks, of being in groups, of being arrested, of being found holding church services, of police, of having people over....
We really do need to think about the children. I don't know how to help them or how much help they will need when this is over to start living life like normal people again. I just know that we are hurting them by forcing them to avoid people and keeping them from normal socialization and making grandparents and hugs scary things that can make them sick.
