Dear Sir,

“There are dark clouds,” said the boy. “Yes, but they will move on.” Said the horse, “the blue sky above never leaves.” The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – Charlie Mackesy

No one can argue that we are facing a very uncertain and challenging time. I have been working with young people as a child behaviour specialist for 18 years now and being in schools this week and witnessing the reactions of our children and young people as they leave their friends, teachers and schools has been very difficult. They have had to walk away from exams that they have worked towards, some of them will still be in school, some will not. Some will still be able to see their friends and family, some will not. Our children are scared and unsure about the immediate future and are going to take their lead from us. This has made me ask a question of myself and others, ‘Who do you want to be at the end of all of this?’

What do I mean by this? Quite simply, do you want to be the person that buys baby milk that you don’t need, just to sell it at a profit, as I heard in Tesco at the weekend? Do you want to be the person that tries to buy 96 toilet rolls, for reasons many cannot quite understand? Do you want to be the person that ignores the boundaries that have been put in place to keep us as safe as possible, just because you want to do what you want to do? Or do you want to be the person that thought about the needs of others and acted accordingly?

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” J. F. Kennedy.

Make no mistake, our country is not just a lump of rock in a rather choppy sea. Our country and our community is our children and right now they are looking to us for guidance and support. We are their barometer of how to behave in this challenging time. What are we going to show them?

Although we are only at the beginning, and the end is unknown, this will end. We all need to step up and set an example to our children through our choices, that will minimize the long term impact of this incredibly difficult experience.

So right now we have the opportunity to choose behaviours that will build a foundation for our children which will allow them to live in a community, a country, and a world that can be better after this than it was before.

Please do not think that I am dismissive of the lives that have been lost or the lives that may still be lost, but my hope is that we can show our children that ‘When you can be anything in this world, be kind.’ are not just meaningless words that we share around for likes, that it should be a statement of fact, as at no time in our recent history have we needed to show more kindness and consideration to others than now.

So when the clouds move on and the blue sky returns, how do we want our children to look at us, with shame or with pride?

Thank you

Tracey