Parent advocacy group’s plan to help kids

A parent advocacy group hopes hundreds of testimonials about lockdown’s impact on kids will compel the government to implement better recovery strategies.

A parent advocacy group is calling for a Minister for Children’s Recovery and a new law that mandates schools are closed last and reopened first in any future pandemic.

Representatives from the Shadow Pandemic group are presenting a plan for children’s recovery to State Parliament on Friday alongside testimonies from parents.

The hundreds of heartbreaking lockdown testimonials include stories about children who stayed in their rooms for months on end, developed anxious tics, were scared to be around other people, tried to kill themselves and developed eating disorders.

The evidence will be provided to the Pandemic Declaration Accountability & Oversight Committee which is hearing evidence about the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of Victorians.

The Shadow Pandemic’s plan also includes fee-free community sport for all Victorian children for the next five years, free holiday programs for low-socio-economic kids, wellbeing programs for all Victorian schools and independent medical assessments of all future government policy affecting children.

Tired Boy Studying In Bedroom

The group is also calling for a broadening of NAPLAN testing to include mental health and wellbeing questions, minimal use of masks on children and a test-to-stay policy at schools.

Shadow Pandemic convenors Moran Dvir and Jacquie Blackwell said the steps were needed because Victorian children “have the infamous and unwanted title of being the ‘most locked down children in the world’ due to strict Stage 4 restrictions imposed in response to the Covid 19 pandemic”.

“Their physical and emotional development has been irrefutably marred,” they said.

“We add our voice to the growing call for the government to urgently implement a recovery plan that is centred around children and youth and their psychological, social, economic, educational and physical wellbeing”.

“Our children have lost so much. It’s time to put them first,” Ms Moran and Ms Blackwell said.

They will be on the steps of the Victorian Parliament at 9.30am on Friday prior to addressing the committee.