Families, children and adolescents: the forgotten in the Coronavirus era
The forgotten greats of the Coronavirus era. Children and adolescents, closed at home since the start of the lockdown, will be the last to gradually regain the normality lost months ago. Because all the activities, who before and after, are moving towards a gradual restart. All except schools. Nurseries, kindergartens, middle and high schools, universities. And then we go back to September. Perhaps. Between ups and downs, education proceeds with DAD, distance learning, but is this enough to safeguard these innocent victims of a pandemic that brings with it social consequences?
Reconciling work and family becomes even more complicated
The time has come to get back to work. Well, but who will take care of the little ones? Many parents cannot work in smart-working, and so where do their children go? At grandparent's home? No, from grandparents better not. There would be a risk of exposing them in all their fragility to the risk of contagion. So, the babysitter? Well, not everyone can afford it, despite the much-discussed babysitter bonus that continues to confuse those directly concerned. And then it is not so easy to find a person on two feet with whom to establish a feeling right away. The child's opinion is what matters most and it is by no means taken for granted that the latter's approval is immediate. Without considering that sense of mistrust in mankind that the virus has subtly triggered in us and that makes us look with suspicion at all those around us. Can we trust an unknown woman whose medical records and contacts we have had in the last few days? And can you trust us? How to keep social distances with children for whom, between games and exchanges of affection, contact is a fundamental prerogative? Let us not forget, then, that there are also single families who cannot count on any network of solidarity aid, neither friends nor relatives.
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It all weighs on mothers
And to take charge of these difficulties - as often happens - are the mothers. Who - if we ever forgot - are also women and workers, not just mothers. Have you noticed that in politics, in the media, during the chatter in the bar, the only ones to be mentioned in this speech are always mothers and almost never fathers? Yet the children belong to both, or am I wrong? If already before the quarantine, 31.5% of unemployed women were not looking for work to take care of the family and 28% of mothers left their jobs for the same reason, what will happen now, after a pandemic that has irremediably marked and upset the economic, social and family structure of our country?
The nostalgia of children
Furthermore, children have to deal with another great lack: sociability. They miss school desks, even boredom among school desks, because they were aware that they were not alone. They feel nostalgic for that sense of sharing with their mates, the moments of collective play, birthday parties, the distribution of pizzas and candies. Laugh at things that only children know. For the moment everything is on standby, including their entertainment. The situation becomes even more delicate for families with children with disabilities, autism and other diseases that inhibit the spirit of adaptation and that the restrictive measures could contribute to aggravate.
The adequate equipment is lacking and the social divide is growing
And so, if parents are busy with work and friends can meet each other but only from a distance, which is a bit like not meeting them at all, the children will opt to spend hours on the sofa, lounging hypnotized in front of the screen of a tablet or whatever. Who is lucky enough to have a tablet. Because there is a large portion of minors who do not even get to be so lucky. 850,000 children between the ages of 6 and 17 do not have the necessary equipment to deal with DAD, inevitably falling behind on the school program and on what would have been the skills that this academic year should have provided them. Others, however, 57%, have only one computer that must be shared with the rest of the family, thus having to try their hand at the discipline of the triple somersault in order to reconcile the commitments of each one. Unfortunately - it must be said - it is not always possible to do so. In short, this virus is both a health and a social scourge, which is contributing to a large extent to exacerbate the social gap between Italian families, impacting above all on the most vulnerable and poorest sections of the population.
How are teenagers?
And then there are the teenagers, often ignored for their age group, hovering between childhood and adulthood, equally victims in this particular situation. "Women and quality of life", a study conducted by the association of psychologists, reveals that one in three suffers from depressive symptoms due to the lockdown. For those who will have to face the final exams this year, there is still little clarity on the practical side and, on the emotional side, a great deal of discomfort. No goodbyes, no last day crying, no post-exam banner or graduation trip. All formative experiences that the boy will not be able to recover in any way. In addition, many of them soon have to take on great responsibilities, transforming themselves into last-minute babysitters for their siblings to make up for the lack of assistance of minors.
Can we do more?
Is this the condition in which a civilized country like Italy wants to leave families, which have always been the pillars of society? A condition of total abandonment? We hope it is only a matter of time before the institutions set in motion initiatives that go to protect this category as well, as important as it is ignored.
