Psyche damage

[Michael Weber]

I wonder what the current situation and how it's being handeled will affect the psyche of today's young children. Their world suddenly upended by scary events they don't understand. Perhaps made worse by the fear they see and hear in their parents. In some cases just witnessing plain mass hysteria. I have a now preteen grandson who a few years ago was caught up in the mass hysteria reaction of a crowd at a college football about a RUMOR of an active shooter triggered by some kind of loud noise. People running, screaming and pushing others in the panic to escape affected him deeply and not in a good way. Maybe just one way this attempted cure is worse than the illness. Most will certainly carry the memory of this through their lives and I suspect many will carry emotional damage as well. IDK. Hope I'm wrong.

[Bryan Lisowski]

My son's take, he is 14 for reference. Home schooling is awful, misses school, his friends and less work. Stay at home and social distancing give him the green light to spend every waking moment on his phone or computer.

[Jim Koepke]

There was something on TV this morning about how New York (can't recall if it is statewide or just the city) has free psychological counseling call in line to help people with their anxieties and such.

jtk

[Dan Friedrichs]

Maybe just one way this attempted cure is worse than the illness.

You are certainly right that there is an important psycho-social component. But, at the same time, there is presently a hospital in NYC with a refrigerated semi truck in the parking lot holding dead bodies (most of whom died alone, as visitors can't be in the hospital). The state ordered 85 more trucks for the coming days. (source (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-hospitals.html))

We need to trust that the doctors, epidemiologists, virologists, and experts who believe this plan is the best plan forward. They are smart people. They know full-well that there will be significant psycho-social damage, but have decided it's a price that needs to be paid. Trust them.

[Jim Becker]

My feeling is despite the initial aversion to the focus on technology, especially by the kiddos, it may be a saving grace here because it's enabling many people to continue interaction with friends and family, despite being physically separate. And that includes tweens and teens which are in that point in human life where social interaction is a huge part of our world as we learn to be adults. So my advice to parents is to allow it "within reason" and even enhance it by helping them do things like have a gathering of friends or a "party" while video conferencing together. A close friend of mine ("sister from another mother") and I had a conversation about that this morning. She's an (unfortunately currently unemployed) single mom with an almost 13 yo daughter that I mentor. It's been very difficult being cooped up in their house together...they are both strong personalities and hormones are raging at the same time. Yet the young lady had a really great time last night on an online video meeting for a church group she's part of...it really worked and improved the mood greatly. So we're encouraging doing similar with her small group of friends that she normally hangs out with so they can hang out together rather than in just one-on-one text/phone conversations. So physical isolation is really necessary, but there's no reason that anyone, young or old, needs to also be socially isolated. Use the tools we have available now to make the best of a difficult situation.

[Patrick Walsh]

I’ll tread lightly here but..

My two cents.

It seems unavoidable that this will impact the phyche of young people moving forward.

I lived in nyc during 911. I watched the the towers burn to the ground from my bedroom window across the river in Brooklyn. I inhaled the ash dust and debris first thing in the morning not knowing what it was till I got to my local coffee shop and was told a plane flew into the world trade center. I remember looking up at the tv and seeing the cloud of smoke around lower Manhattan I was inhaling across the river and going “oh shit that’s what’s going on”.

Did it impact the way I thought or preceded or conducted my life in the following years. Not even a little as I was 20 something arrogant as hell with the typical perspective of a young person “that all doesn’t include me attitude”. You know kinda like all the young folk now still going going about this like overreacting is not eh only logical option. Right now I have a neighborhood of dam kids pout play. Ok not dam skids but stupid stupid parents.

I’ll start by stating I’m not even slightly religious. Nor am i a dooms day this or that, a gun owner, munitions hoarder or bomb shelter owner. I’m pretty left very liberal and I don’t worry about much other than making sure everyday I’m living my life as I would if it where my last.

I’ll follow by saying that I have been thinking for a number of years now “mass shootings, climate deniers” that the righting is on the walls. Again not religious one bit but I hear the worlds in the scriptures ringing in my head, “things like plague will become increasingly prevent, greed and those in power will look good to the masses but in reality be brutal dictators, we will destroy and exauhst our natural resources blah blah blah. Civil war will erupt, world war even.

What I’m trying to get at is the premise that we are our own worst enemy us humans. That we do ourself in with our heads in the clouds the whole while thinking everything is roses, I’m doing my part and none of it really matters as I’ll be dead and gone. We are our own worst enemy’s imop. In the name of me myself and I our own personal family units we destroy this great earth. We all think our crap don’t stink but very very few of us “myself included” do a dam thing to stop this snowball.

Yes there are some that dedicate their lives to solutions regarding all the above mentioned topics. But general the masses me included do next to nothing. All the while we stuff our faces with the very stuff that is guarantee to take all that is great about life and this earth away. Very few think beyond themself and take any significant action. We are all responsible for our decline and the earths. It’s pathetic and sad us humans really.

Will this change the way our young think. I sure as hell hope so. As it’s long overdue that us humans begin thinking not as me but as us. And not as the earth as ours but us as visitors and care takers. The me needs to be taken out of the very very short and imop insignificant role we each play in the course of a life when pretty much all we do is consume and self fulfill destroying the very thing we cling so tightly to. Its my opinion that “me” is what got us to mass shootings, to planes flying into towers, wars, and now pandemic to add to the list.

I can’t help but think that maybe not in my lifetime “43” us humans will go the way of the t-Rex and honestly I think based on our behavior it’s full well what most of us deserve. Further I think we could be closer to such than any of us know.

[David E. Hutchins]

My boys are younger, eight and six, so I don't think they fully grasp what's going on. They know why they're out of school and that people are getting sick but they don't get the magnitude of what's happening so I don't know how much the pandemic it self is going to have an effect on them if any at all.

Where it is going to effect my younger son is in his development. He's in his second year of kindergarten and still not progressing like he should be. Now he's not getting the help of the specialists in his intervention programs. We are trying our best to work with him but my wife and I are not professionals. We are very worried about him regressing from an already behind point, then what do we do? Do you hold him back and make him do a third year of kindergarten? It was hard on him the first time, not moving on with his friends. We don't want him thinking there's something wrong with him when everyone else moves on and he just stays in kindergarten. At the same time, pushing him forward to first grade is just going to put him further behind.

[Rob Luter]

Hoping they’ll be fine. When I was a teen I lived in the sticks. We had a snow/ice storm that socked us in without power for 15 days. This was pre cable TV, cell phone, internet, etc. No pot, no booze. Wood for heat. Cooked in the fireplace. I made do. We played cards, chess, and other board games. We went for short walks. We took lots of naps. We stunk after two weeks without a proper shower. We were fine.

[Jerome Stanek]

My daughters niece is a consular and she said there is an increase in kids needing help

[Ken Fitzgerald]

We have 8 grandkids from ages 34 to 7. My wife is currently in California, watching and homeschooling the 3 youngest, twin 10 yo granddaughters and their 7 yo brother, our grandson. I am at home in Idaho taking care of things here. I just got off the phone with my wife and we were discussing the youngsters. When the schools were closed, the school issued netbooks to each student loaded with their class homework. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they video conference with their teacher and classmates for some socializing and discussion of class work. They have the capability of contacting the teacher M-F during normal classroom hours to get questions of their homework answered.

Normally our DIL limits their time on computers to a set daily amount but that is not in effect in these times we are experiencing.

The DIL is a clinical pharmacist working in 2 hospitals. She discusses the situation in a unstressed manner each day. Will it have an effect? Maybe. I think the effect will be very individual based on the circumstances each child experiences and the manner in which the adults around them handle the issues. Like a lot of things, I think it will be very individual.

[roger wiegand]

I remember vividly hiding under our desks to prepare for an atomic attack. I was convinced that we were in imminent danger of being incinerated. By the time I was 7 or 8 I was reading books about WWII and knew in some detail what had happened in Japan. I used to sit on the beach (of Lake Erie) watching for mushroom clouds in Cleveland, so I could run home in time to be with my Mom.

Permanent damage? I guess that's for other to say ...

[Bruce Volden]

I'm a Korean War baby. Dad was career. Lived all over the USA and Europe, (6 yrs.)
Dad went to 'Nam, we (Mom and 2 younger brothers) stayed at granpa&grammas farm and went to country school.
He made another trip to "Nam and I was old enough to move into my Grammas house to finish my last 3 years of high school while mom and brothers
stayed on @ Ft. Sill OK. Then dad retired (1st Sgt Big Red One)
My draft # was 1!! Dec 4th--Ima lucky guy. Went to basic training and half way through Nixon stopped sending troops.
I remember the A-bomb shelters and "hide" under your desk drills.
I remember living in Westport CT where we were to "poor" to afford beef on dads army pay---we had to eat lobster, clams, crab, flounder....I liked being "poor"!
The greatest harm to my psyche was ALWAYS leaving behind school friends! That was the hardest part for me.
I KNOW kids are resilient as I, at one time was one.
Looking back I have seen a lot of amazing changes in life and they will too.

Bruce

[Matt Day]

My kids (5 & 7) are doing just fine. A little more bickering between the two of them since we’re home all day together which is to be expected. They are both fine though, but we are very fortunate. My wife can basically stay at home and work and I can be with the kids all day. We have a cul-de-sac to ride scooters, shoot hoops, Frisbee, etc. And have been taking bike rides around the neighborhood while I run for exercise, went mountain biking today and a hike yesterday.
They miss their friends but we’ve been reinforcing the idea of how special family is and how fortunate we are. My neighbors boy is 13 and he’s a super nice kid and my kids love him, so it’s hard to tell them we can’t play together (because his older sister insists on driving to her friends houses constantly!).
But overall, my kids are doing fine. We’re only 2 weeks into this and we’ve got another month at least. E learning starts next week which will help fill some time durning the day, and the weather seems to finally be turning.

[Bill Dufour]

Realize that the last one hundred years or so have been a very unusual time in human history. Many kids grew up never seeing a dead body and not having young friends or relatives die. My Mother born ,in1920, Said she was told as a child the ideal family had four children: two to replace the parents, one to increase the population and, one to die.
I certainly grew up thinking it was very unusual for a child to die. I only know of one girl who got lekumenia in high school and died. No one else in my school of about 2,000 died except three by drowning.
I would hate to see people die of drug resistant diseases and return to historically "normal" death rates.
the native population of the new world never reurned their previous levels after being introduced to new diseases from Europe. Some tribes lost 80-90% of their members in a few seasons.
I am not aware of any new diseases the europeans got from the new world?
Bil lD
Bill D.

[Mel Fulks]

I've got a number of printed diaries and journals that I read years ago. Most were written in 17th and 18th centurys.
There are comments like " leaving tomorrow many are dying here". Most of the time the next town was fine.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Realize that the last one hundred years or so have been a very unusual time in human history. Many kids grew up never seeing a dead body and not having young friends or relatives die. My Mother born ,in1920, Said she was told as a child the ideal family had four children: two to replace the parents, one to increase the population and, one to die.
I certainly grew up thinking it was very unusual for a child to die. I only know of one girl who got lekumenia in high school and died. No one else in my school of about 2,000 died except three by drowning.
I would hate to see people die of drug resistant diseases and return to historically "normal" death rates.
the native population of the new world never reurned their previous levels after being introduced to new diseases from Europe. Some tribes lost 80-90% of their members in a few seasons.
I am not aware of any new diseases the europeans got from the new world?
Bil lD
Bill D.

Recent history is VERY unusual as it relates to children. If anyone has done any genealogical research, likely they will be amazed at the infant mortality rates. I have found 3 children in the same nuclear family with the same name. The first 2 never saw their 2nd birthday, so the name just got 'recycled'. Pre-1900, it is tough to find a family that did not suffer from some manner of childhood death.

(And if memory serves, syphilis was part of the Columbian exchange - moving west to east! Take THAT ...you Euro-trash!;) )

[Jacob Reverb]

A few thoughts:
1. Even with CV, things today for kids are a heck of a lot less traumatic than they were for probably any generation that came before them.
2. Kids are tougher than many people give them credit for. They're remarkably durable.
3. Hovering over them, continually coddling them and assuring them that "everything will be OK" in between our tears will probably traumatize them more than anything.
4. Buck up, Buttercup.
5. They'll get over it.

[Jim Becker]

I've got a number of printed diaries and journals that I read years ago. Most were written in 17th and 18th centurys.
There are comments like " leaving tomorrow many are dying here". Most of the time the next town was fine.

...until they arrived at the next town, bringing "whatever it was" with them...

[Jacob Reverb]

(And if memory serves, syphilis was part of the Columbian exchange - moving west to east! Take THAT ...you Euro-trash!;) )

Tobacco, too -- though we bought it with whisky. Not sure who got the dirtier end of the stick on that one...

[Patrick Walsh]

Same story now is it was then.

It’s all about me...

Shameful bunch of space and resource wasters most of us are in general.

Sure there are those out there on the front lines of this fighting tooth and nail. Scientist in labs dedicating their lives to cures for disease. Climate activists and again scientist dedicated to not just watching this whole thing go down the pooper.

The rest of us, the majority are just along for the ride and imop fully responsible for the mess us humans make.

Sounds so negative but think about it. I’d say 99.9% of us humans are all about me. Ok maybe their children also. But beyond they it’s all self preservation.

Pretty sad and honestly pathetic imop. That we all put this spin on things that us humans are so Nobel and great a tribe and or one. I love the song “imagine” but let’s be realistic here. It’s a great song but what was John really trying to say wink wink..

I say give this whole dam thing back to the animals. We sure don’t deserve it.

On a whole and largely we fully deserve this planet to consume us vrs is consume it.

And so that people don’t think that I don’t think my poo don’t stink. I’m guilty as any, my highly toxic DuPont Emron paint for my giant overbuilt cast iron babies. Crap I went through a gallon of laquer thinner just this last week alone. My exotic wood fetish, my garden full of uber expensive overpriced so called “specimen” trees, my bonsai and the nasty nasty chemicals it requires to keep these crazy expensive self righteous little trees alive is taking life from me and this this great earth with every pump of the pump sprayer. My own list goes in and on...

Drive through northern jersey and the horror of all those power plants and chemical factories to serve the needs of a earth overrun with peoples selfish desires. Travel to parts of the southwest and west and it’s oil Riggs as far as the eye can see robbing the earth so we can have a new Tesla ever four years. Travel pretty much anywhere anymore and the horizon is covered in wind mills again to deliver us power to make things derived of the earth once stripped of the earth that can’t be replaced only for us subscribe to culture of disposable everything as if we dare build anything to last our buisness models will surely fail. Selfish selfish selfish and so short sighted. How can all that not be about me me me.

I’m sorry but what kinda dam world is that? And thus as a whole us humans what good are we really. Shame on us all is my honest opinion. And yes I can wrap a pandemic into my thinking regarding all of the above.

[Art Mann]

In comparison to the history of mankind, the current challenge is only slightly more than trivial. We are a much more resilient species than some people give us credit for being.

[Patrick Walsh]

True,

And I agree.

But my perspective is resilient kinda like a dam germ.


In comparison to the history of mankind, the current challenge is only slightly more than trivial. We are a much more resilient species than some people give us credit for being.

[Jacob Reverb]

Same story now is it was then.

It’s all about me...

Shameful bunch of space and resource wasters most of us are in general.

Sure there are those out there on the front lines of this fighting tooth and nail. Scientist in labs dedicating their lives to cures for disease. Climate activists and again scientist dedicated to not just watching this whole thing go down the pooper.

The rest of us, the majority are just along for the ride and imop fully responsible for the mess us humans make.

Sounds so negative but think about it. I’d say 99.9% of us humans are all about me. Ok maybe their children also. But beyond they it’s all self preservation.

Pretty sad and honestly pathetic imop. That we all put this spin on things that us humans are so Nobel and great a tribe and or one. I love the song “imagine” but let’s be realistic here. It’s a great song but what was John really trying to say wink wink..

I say give this whole dam thing back to the animals. We sure don’t deserve it.

On a whole and largely we fully deserve this planet to consume us vrs is consume it.

And so that people don’t think that I don’t think my poo don’t stink. I’m guilty as any, my highly toxic DuPont Emron paint for my giant overbuilt cast iron babies. Crap I went through a gallon of laquer thinner just this last week alone. My exotic wood fetish, my garden full of uber expensive overpriced so called “specimen” trees, my bonsai and the nasty nasty chemicals it requires to keep these crazy expensive self righteous little trees alive is taking life from me and this this great earth with every pump of the pump sprayer. My own list goes in and on...

Drive through northern jersey and the horror of all those power plants and chemical factories to serve the needs of a earth overrun with peoples selfish desires. Travel to parts of the southwest and west and it’s oil Riggs as far as the eye can see robbing the earth so we can have a new Tesla ever four years. Travel pretty much anywhere anymore and the horizon is covered in wind mills again to deliver us power to make things derived of the earth once stripped of the earth that can’t be replaced only for us subscribe to culture of disposable everything as if we dare build anything to last our buisness models will surely fail. Selfish selfish selfish and so short sighted. How can all that not be about me me me.

I’m sorry but what kinda dam world is that? And thus as a whole us humans what good are we really. Shame on us all is my honest opinion. And yes I can wrap a pandemic into my thinking regarding all of the above.

Good God, what a tiresome pose. I mean, seriously, could you have possibly fit one more empty platitude, one more hackneyed pose, or one more "woe is me" worldweary affectation into one post? I'm not sure there's a single cliche you missed. It's even got John Lennon lyrics in it, FFS!

I mean, if getting a job, having a family, raising them to the best of our ability, and trying to make enough to retire and maybe leave our kids something to maybe have a better life -- if that's so awful horrible icky "me me me" ... then what is it, Patrick, that you would have us do?

What is it that humans could do that would redeem our species in your eyes?

Yeah, we get it: You think humankind is a scourge that should be wiped off the face of the earth. Awesome. Kinda takes refuting American exceptionalism to a whole new level, doesn't it? It's not just Americans who are horrible, it's humans! That's some heavy stuff, man.

Obviously, the only possible way to prevent The Destruction of Teh Universe is for humankind to be extinctified, yes?

All I can say is, there's nothing quite like leading by example!

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I just have very very little patience for this kind of self-indulgent navel-gazing, mainly because in most cases, I don't buy it. I don't believe it's sincere. If it were sincere, you would do something about it, such as abandon your aforementioned bonsai tree chemicals, your lacquer thinner, your Maserati and your Emron paint. The fact that you don't abandon etc., shows that it's all just talk. Which means that all you're doing is blowing a lot of hot air around the room in the name of striking a virtue-signaling pose. Sorry, but I just consider that hypocritical horse sh_t.

Sorry to jump your train, but I'm not sure you could have begged for it any harder. I'm sure you're a nice guy and you mean well, but -- well, remind me not to let you corner me at the next neighborhood party. ;-)

[Patrick Walsh]

No..

I don’t see your desire to raise your kids work hard and leave them a better life as bad. Not one it....

What I see as bad is end result of what it takes “or at least what us humans think it takes” us to sustain life.

I was thinking as I’m emptied my dust collector. Our government, not just our and not saying government is bad as I’m not at all. But based on looking at what’s going on right now like this very moment I can help but think our government and whole world economic system on a whole. Maybe economic system is the wrong analogy. Maybe human approach to problem solving is a better way to communicate my thoughts. Is much like a vehicles built to last four years or a paper cup or plate.

If you think it all the way through it is not sustainable. And if that be the case maybe thinking the thing all the way through making very hard choices “not gonna happen now” we are clearly to deep might have been wise “if us humans are so dam smart” but we are not. We only have the capacity generally speaking to tend to what’s right in front of us. Well we choose to only recognize our capacity for instant gratification vrs what’s coming down the road. Generally we are willing to make sacrifices within our family units but dare we think Briton’s our own family nation and recognize us as humans globally.

For instance today there are news report of directing the virus at the young “sending them back to work” as to build a immunity for a second round predicted to come. Or the opposite side of the coin sacrifice our elderly “send them back to work” to keep the economy going and sacrifices for the young.

My point is we all do have the capacity as a whole to make very different decisions. Decisions that could result in the preservation and good of us all as a whole but we don’t. Instead we all “myself included” participate in digging the hole deeper.

Use the giant pile of plastic in the middle of the pacific for instance, or al the places across the globe without even the fundamental basics like clean drinking water, roofs over their heads, food and a government that protects its people from the ravages up the evil.

Yeah huge sweeping broad topics I’m touching here but it’s all comes back to the choices each and everyone of us make.

And the choice I see us all make over and over and over again is “me, mine my bank account t my 401k my my my my”

Yeah I see that as a huge problem.

The crux of the problem the core of the problem. And yes I’m making clear I’m probably more guilty than many..

[Eric Danstrom]

Kids have been facing this kind of adversity forever. Instead of expecting them to fold we should be helping them cope. Life is full of these kind of challenges. Kids lose parents, friends, etc....

[Bill Dufour]

Thanks to the community for not flaming my post. I was hesitant to post it because I worried it might come off as uncaring. I meant it to be reassuring that children can cope with bad stuff and have done so for 10's of thousands of years. At least now we know how disease is spread and how to wash our hands unlike our ancestors who had no clue about what made people sick. It used to be that bathing was considered unhealthy and sinful. Saint Francis did not bathe for the last 20? years of his life. That made him smell better to the wild animals I suppose.
Bill D

[Jim Becker]

Bill, honestly, one of the biggest challenges right now is with everyone in a family at home, everyone has to "get along". Parents think the tweens/teens are obnoxious and the tweens/teens think the parents are obnoxious. They are both likely correct...from their own points of view at least. :) :D I do think that teachers will get a bit more respect going forward, at least until folks forget this lovely experience.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Patrick, you CAN have the world of your dreams. Simply remove all but 2 people from the planet. ...I get to choose.:cool:

[Larry Frank]

The biggest psyche damage is some of the comments on this thread. I have never read such negativity and some in this thread seem ready to cash it all end. I believe that we will find solutions and survive. Rather than the glass half empty that some seem to have , I am a glass half full.

[Darcy Warner]

Good God, what a tiresome pose. I mean, seriously, could you have possibly fit one more empty platitude, one more hackneyed pose, or one more "woe is me" worldweary affectation into one post? I'm not sure there's a single cliche you missed. It's even got John Lennon lyrics in it, FFS!

I mean, if getting a job, having a family, raising them to the best of our ability, and trying to make enough to retire and maybe leave our kids something to maybe have a better life -- if that's so awful horrible icky "me me me" ... then what is it, Patrick, that you would have us do?

What is it that humans could do that would redeem our species in your eyes?

Yeah, we get it: You think humankind is a scourge that should be wiped off the face of the earth. Awesome. Kinda takes refuting American exceptionalism to a whole new level, doesn't it? It's not just Americans who are horrible, it's humans! That's some heavy stuff, man.

Obviously, the only possible way to prevent The Destruction of Teh Universe is for humankind to be extinctified, yes?

All I can say is, there's nothing quite like leading by example!

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I just have very very little patience for this kind of self-indulgent navel-gazing, mainly because in most cases, I don't buy it. I don't believe it's sincere. If it were sincere, you would do something about it, such as abandon your aforementioned bonsai tree chemicals, your lacquer thinner, your Maserati and your Emron paint. The fact that you don't abandon etc., shows that it's all just talk. Which means that all you're doing is blowing a lot of hot air around the room in the name of striking a virtue-signaling pose. Sorry, but I just consider that hypocritical horse sh_t.

Sorry to jump your train, but I'm not sure you could have begged for it any harder. I'm sure you're a nice guy and you mean well, but -- well, remind me not to let you corner me at the next neighborhood party. ;-)

Not worth the time or effort. Sometimes there is no point wasting ones time or effort and I assure you, this is one of those instances.

[Edwin Santos]

The biggest psyche damage is some of the comments on this thread. I have never read such negativity and some in this thread seem ready to cash it all end. I believe that we will find solutions and survive. Rather than the glass half empty that some seem to have , I am a glass half full.

I'm with you Larry. No sense in being a fatalist. This is a bad trip for sure, but it will end, and life will go on. Sometimes the wake-up call makes us appreciate what we have.

As to kids, I agree with someone else in the thread that said they are more resilient than we think. The brains of children and adolescents are functionally and physiologically different than adults and in ways that protect them from macro type stresses. It has been studied that personal experiential trauma is very real for them, but societal crisis not so much. I think many adults will have some PTSD of some type, especially those that face financial hardships, suffer illness themselves, or lose loved ones, but human beings overcome in the end and the sun will rise.
Edwin

[Patrick Walsh]

Just to be clear I don’t post these thought/feelings thinking it’s gonna win me the popular vote. I’m not that stupid ;)

I’m full well aware that it will ostracize me from most.

Regardless it’s how I feel and I never pretend or beat around the bush.

I say what I think and don’t need or expect everyone/most or many for that matter to agree. I turn on the tv I see what the general population subscribe to.

My opinions are mine. I don’t expect others to agree. I do hope that those my thoughts feelings and opinions dont push away maybe makes a few think. I know 100% for sure I’m not alone in these opinions and ideas. Often we can think we are and unless we hear other people voice similar feelings we can think we are the only ones. If we don’t do something regarding our direction as a race it’s my opinion we are in trouble.

If you think ok he is bat shit crazy so be it. Is what it is. I never did a dam thing with the motive or intent to be popular. I have never had the slightest interest in being part of the masses..

Right now the masses are supposed to be social distancing and instead they are all outside acting like it a freaking holiday..

[Art Mann]

I am just so happy that I don't regard myself so badly. I think you should seek counseling for such feelings. You don't have to be that way.

True,

And I agree.

But my perspective is resilient kinda like a dam germ.

[Doug Dawson]

I am just so happy that I don't regard myself so badly. I think you should seek counseling for such feelings. You don't have to be that way.

I don't think that's what he mean't.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

My 13 YO (when did he grow up???) has been sitting on his computer, gaming for most of the last 2 weeks. His biggest concern seems to have been that we didn't buy him a gaming computer for his birthday. As if!
We're being inundated by the social workers with offers of counseling. I have a feeling we will need it once he faces the reality that his playing 14 hours on the Xbox and PS4 are going to be interrupted by !heavens above! distance schooling.

[Robert Galey]

No commentary. Just a suggestion...perhaps for perspective. Consider reading Erik Larson's "The Splendid and the Vile". It's about Winston Churchill's first year as the new British Prime Minster and the Blitz.

[Larry Edgerton]

My thoughts are that any and all damage can be laid at the door of society and parents that have hidden reality from children for perhaps the last 70ish years.

Life happens, it is what shapes us all, and it is unavoidable in the end. So if the kiddies are surprised, they are because of a trend to keep our children away from life rather than allowing them to experience and grow. It is a parents job to prepare their children for life, and life ALWAYS has its tragedies.

I am in agreement with Patrick, humans are a virus on the earth and eventually we will die out by our own hand, or the universe will cough and expel us. It makes no difference really, we are but a speck in time.

[Jim Becker]

As if!
We're being inundated by the social workers with offers of counseling. I have a feeling we will need it once he faces the reality that his playing 14 hours on the Xbox and PS4 are going to be interrupted by !heavens above! distance schooling.

My close friend's 13yo daughter in Florida is about to experience that "opening of the heavens" tomorrow morning bright and early...no more sleeping in until noon. Classes start at 8am and their district has it structured exactly like everyone is in a classroom. They apparently have a good implementation of Canvas (used my many universities) and it's set and ready to go for the remainder of the school year.

[Brian Holcombe]

My son seems largely unbothered by this, he’s been talking to friends and teachers via FaceTime and using his imagination to come up will all kinds of fun.

[Darcy Warner]

My son seems largely unbothered by this, he’s been talking to friends and teachers via FaceTime and using his imagination to come up will all kinds of fun.

I put all 3 of mine to work at my shop. We ran pipe, pulled wire an installed 16 more lights yesterday. Today my oldest and I will install a new garage door opener.

Also been helping my wife clean up outside and do stuff around the house.

Got to keep them busy.

[Larry Frank]

Some years ago, when we had kids at home there were strict rules about computer, tv, and game times. Also, a list of chores. This is a great time to teach kids of all ages to cook, clean, do laundry, scrub floors etc. All of these are life skills and should be taught.

I understand that I grew up in a different time but kids need to learn discipline. My dad had strict rules and these included never being told twice to do something and to do it right the first time PERIOD..