As an adult, my brain can hardly process it all. I can't imagine what a child feels like. Actually, I can. I have talked a lot about everything with my kids. It's been a while since I have blogged on here and have no idea what names I even call them for the blog. But they are now 11 and 7 years old.
My son wrote a journal at the end of last school year that had us all panicking. At no age should a child feel helpless and out of control enough to wish that they were no longer here. I didn't read the journal before he submitted it to his teacher. He had even promised her that she wouldn't share it. But promises are broken when a child (or anyone) talks about taking ones life. The pandemic isolated him from all he knew and all his feelings got the best of him. She notified me and she came over to talk to him. I called the doctor who referred us to a therapist who felt comfortable enough to do in person appointments. He was comfortable with her and was able to open up about his feelings.
Our daughter, is doing great in second grade. She missed her friends and after what we went through with her brother decided that we were fine with them seeing and socializing. People are social and children need the support of their peers.
Their school district went to in person or optional online for student at the beginning. Grades 3rd and up wear masks and all staff. No visitors. For my children's mental health we put them in person and they are doing wonderful months later. The district is on top of cleaning and total transparency about how many cases and in which school the cases are.
It's been a crazy 2 weeks that turned into a year.
