Lockdown Children.

Do their parents not remind them?

Several of the children in my daughters class have fallen so far behind.They are now on a two week break as one child has Covid.My daughter is so upset as she felt some of them were finally catching up and learning to learn again.One little girl has to be fed her lunch or she doesn’t eat.
These children are five and some of them have regressed and are more like three year olds.It is truly heartbreaking.

I was shocked to hear that on the news this morning. What is happening at home for them to forget? Surely it is not the schools responsibility to toilet train children

That is sad.
I think there a couple of GNs on here who, along with me, have said time and time again that younger children must be in school or it will be disastrous for many.
To my way of thinking they should have returned to school in June as did nanynin the independent sector.
They don't forget to do a wee, they do it involuntarily because they are disturbed and upset. It isn't the fault of the parents.

*many in not nanynin - who is she?!

Even worse was the 20% increase in babies being harmed or killed during Lockdown.

Ms Spielman believes a "toxic mix" of isolation, poverty and mental illness caused the March to October spike. Health staff and social workers were hampered by Covid restrictions. And many regular visits could not take place, while others were carried out remotely, using the telephone or video links

BBC

In my view it is not up to teachers to make sure children are potty trained or can use a knife and fork correctly!

I can see all this but DGD3 was having a 'thing' against reading just before lockdown and wouldn't read to anyone during lockdown. Since going back to school her reading has really taken off.

Obviously, not right for everyone but it did her good.

Children arrived in my DiL's reception class in September, many wearing nappies and most eating with their fingers etc. She thought it was because Covid had meant that she couldn't liase with the parents as she would normally.

I can understand children's social development being affected but surely, if they've spent more time with their parents during lockdown, they should have learned most of the other skills they needed to start school. It's the parents' job to teach them to use a knife and fork and to potty train them. What were they doing all those months? Presumably staring at screens while their parents stared at their phones, although I accept that some parents were working from home at least some of the day.

septima many many parents were working from home whilst juggling childcare and home schooling.

Some were no doubt worrying how they could pay the bills and feed their families.

A perfect storm of problems.

I don't think having worries means that children can't be taught the basics.
My grandsons would never have learned any skills, if that was the case.

In my view it is not up to teachers to make sure children are potty trained or can use a knife and fork correctly!
You'd think not, wouldn't you, kittylester but sadly many children have not been toilet trained or learnt how to eat properly with a knife and fork.

I remember when children were refused a place at the school nursery age 3 if they were not toilet trained but then that all changed and became unlawful. The nursery teacher said that she and her staff spent much of their time changing nappies or trying to toilet train children. The Disability Discrmination Act was supposed to apply to children with special needs only but in fact meant that no child could be refused a place on those grounds.

I think this is another example of the virus exposing and exacerbating the ore-existing fault lines in our social infrastructure. Before lockdown children were abused and neglected killed and harmed , lived in poverty with unsupported parents whilst Sure Start Centres were closed and social services and education services suffered cut after budget cut. And now suddenly people who support governments who have implemented a decade of austerity have discovered its all the fault of lockdown.

I started this thread, but thought I would see what comments it attracted.

I’m glad most follow my way of thinking, that of course it is the job of the parents to train their children how to go to the toilet and use cutlery.

No wonder it’s such a struggle to teach little children the basics of reading and writing if so many other issues need addressing.

MissAdventure under normal circumstances I would totally agree with you, unfortunately Covid-19 seems to have had an enormous negative effect on many folks and there does seem to have been an increase in folks not being able to cope with many basic day to day things.

I don’t really understand how parents put their children into nappies and let them finger feed themselves but I suppose they had to work. However, I think the must poignant remark I heard on the same interview was that children were playing in silence and not playing with each other. Children learn through play.

Would Sure Start Centres have been open during lockdown?
Lockdowns are having these dreadful consequences; children not able to attend schools or nurseries, Social Services not having actual contact with families, carers not going into homes to look after the elderly etc.
People who need help are struggling and small children in particular have no voice to speak for them.

Yes, I suppose you're right, grannygravy.
I find it frustrating though, that people will happily state that it's parents responsibility for this that and the other during normal times.
(Perhaps when it doesn't affect them?)

If we hadn’t had 10 years of austerity defunding our social infrastructure we might have had a better base to deal with the pandemic from. Better housing, better social service provision, better school facilities. But we went into this with high levels of inequality and poverty and deprivation and inadequate resources.

Not sure how widespread this problem is or just more scaremongering. I really can't see that its the child regressing to nappies, the parents must be allowing this to happen and buying the nappies. Not sure about this one at all.

sodapop children cannot purchase their own nappies I agree. Daytime regression could be attention seeking on behalf of the child. Night time bed wetting is sometimes a sign of stress in the child.

GrannyGravy, I agree. It's been a really difficult time for everyone, including parents trying to work from home and care for children at the same time. I remember when I was teaching that we complained that children were sent to school unable to tie their shoelaces! Those were the days!

However, there does seem to be a tendency among some parents to be very indulgent towards their children to the extent that they even refuse to carry out simple instructions at school, saying that they don't have to do that. I fear for society when they grow up!

Ofsted have reported on this and they are not given to wild statements.
When I started teaching Infants nearly fifty years ago one never saw a child in nappies in school, certainly no dummies and children were used to handling cutlery and eating off plates. Playgroups had only just started, and there were very few nurseries. I worked in very deprived areas in London and the Midlands.

There has been a move in recent years by a small but rising number of families to leave potty training to the nursery or school, and it is obvious many children eat with their fingers and off their knees and have no idea what cutlery is for.
These children had been taught by the nurseries and schools and regressed because parents did not bother to reinforce their training.So much easier to blame austerity and lack of local services than expect parents to take responsibility for their children.

I'm not sure why being at home with your children would have such a terrible affect on your children.

Austerity contributed to the problems and it’s a nonsense to imply that all would be well with the nation’s children if only they’d been able to go to school ( or the pandemic hadn’t happened).