Lockdown Returns for Victorians: "Oh No, Not Again"

Victorian schools were closed for three days this week due to the latest outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Melbourne. Following the announcement made on Friday afternoon that ‘from 11.59pm February 12 until 11.59pm Wednesday February 17, the entire state of Victoria’ was to go into lockdown, parents went into panic about how to make arrangements for their children, especially for those who had to work. A unanimous “oh no not this again,” could almost be heard bellowing from every household throughout Victoria as many families are concerned the lockdown will go for longer, meaning the return to Remote Learning.

“It was very stressful when we heard the announcement,” said one parent, “it was a mad panic of changing rosters at work to fit in with being able to stay home with the kids. I work nightshift so that was especially tricky, because I need to sleep when I finish a shift which is hard with the kids at home.”

For some parents, the option of sending their children to school if it was not possible for them to stay home was not considered as teachers were not going to be planning any schoolwork, due to there not being enough time for them to organise tasks for the day.

“We were given the option of sending the kids if we had to work, but we had to send them with activities. So in the end, I just had to call my boss and take more annual leave,” a frustrated mother told The Bridge.

There was a positive spin on the 3-day lockdown, which was not having to rush around in the morning packing schoolbags and lunches and dragging sleepy teenagers out of bed.

Keeping this thought in mind has been particularly reassuring for this father, who said -

“It should be more relaxed in the morning at least! I won’t be strict about schoolwork these next few days. I’ll just be happy if they do some quiet reading, it was stressful enough last time. I just hope it only lasts these next couple of days.”

With 2021 hoping to be the school year without interruptions, it seems we are off to a shaky start.

I read a post on social media the other day about our children being some of the silent heroes in all of this. Constantly having to adapt to an unpredictable environment, the stress at home between their parents, on again off again classroom learning, frequently sanitising hands, keeping 1.5 metres distance between their friends, not being allowed to visit loved ones from interstate as well as just down the road – have all made for what must be a pretty scary world for them to live in, as they do so in silence because they are expected to go with the flow. Stop for a moment and think about these little champions who have had a very hard lesson in resilience. As parents, our priority should be to help them let go of the fear and make sure they are still able to be kids. Sure, we will never forget what it was like to go through a pandemic such as what we are going through now, but may we always remember these important years of our childrens’ lives, it is called ‘being a kid.’