Molly Kingsley, Liz Cole

… Fuelled by that fear, we locked our young in their rooms for days on end, padlocked their playgrounds and stopped them from seeing their grandparents and friends … Fuelled by fear we breached our species’ most basic social compact: to protect our young, abandoning at so many touch points our posts as guardians and often even pushing children into harm’s way – mentally and physically – to save ourselves.

… Worst of all, drunk on our diet of fear, we taught children they were “vectors,” “silent spreaders,” “reservoirs of infection” – posing a danger to the adults around them. 

… Taught that they were responsible for endangering the lives of their elders, many youngsters now have serious mental health problems