So here is an article (by scientists) about it. A year into the pandemic, the coronavirus is messing with our minds as well as our bodies (theconversation.com) It's more subtle than I've written about above (no we are not zombies) but super interesting. Apparently people might become MORE social when they have covid. Normally with a bad cold you want to hunker down and disappear. (Edited to add: imagine if that was true, and it turned out covid contained a cure for being anti-social . . . and all the extroverts of the world are pushing us to 'just catch covid!' . . .)

Some people have talked about the 'zombie ant' theory of covid (ie, that covid in the brain actually encourages people to relax and spread it around, just as other viruses/parasites do in ants). I don't know if I totally buy that, but there's got to be some reason that so many people downplay covid, even those researching it. I mean, even people attending and speaking at the conferences about covid aren't masking. I hope some researchers out there are looking at all this, because it won't be the last pandemic. My personal opinion is that humans tend to follow clear instructions, look for clear boundaries, and clear directions from leaders. In Australia, when the rules were cut and dried, people followed them. 95% vaccination rate when it was required. Once the rules were dropped and it was just suggested, then the vaccination rate dropped significantly, and masking has almost entirely dropped. The less consistent the rules (eg, no masking at place X, but yes masking at place Y), the fewer people put on a mask, too. In Australia, we don't have a CDC, but it feels like any power health officials once had has been taken from them. The politicians are openly a) not asking them and b) not following any advice.

What about a Pokemon Origami book? Really cute and combines the art/Pokemon thing in a new way. My kids are majorly into Pokemon so anything like that would work - a book, a little plushie, some Pokemon themed stationary. With the 4.5 year olds, are they yours or extended family? I always recommend swings as gifts - they have been the best things ever for my kids, esp the soft swings. One each for each kid. If they're not your kids, then squishmellow toys are still really popular.

I'm really hoping (based on wishful thinking) that this is the case for a lot of the post-covid complications, that what they're seeing in the first 3-6mths post covid isn't what they see 12-18mths down the track. Obviously it will depend, I certainly have seen some accounts from people who got covid in early 2020 and are still really struggling, and of course things like T1 diabetes aren't reversable. But I hope some of the heart and immunity and brain issues do get better with time. I assume that getting covid again within that time period would not help with getting better, though.

You know, I don't know. I do know that fair work is a massive thing in Australia and the government has just passed more rules about it. I also have an ex-brother in law in IT earning squillions who has never, ever had to sleep overnight at work. But I'm no expert, maybe they do and I just haven't heard about it? I have a nurse friend who had to work really long hours during covid because all the other nurses on his ward had covid. He was hallucinating with exhaustion. But he definitely got paid extra and got extra time off afterwards.

Sounds similar to what was happening here in winter, with RSV and flu on top of Covid. It's so dangerous. Such a tricky time of year - starting to get invited to things. I think I will just have to be blunt about the indoor activities and say I can't do them. At least with homeschooling a lot of the end of year stuff is reduced.

I am absolutely floored. Requiring that you sleep at work . . . exempted from fair labor laws? That's just slavery.

Same, I am going to try to be vigilant about the mossie spray. Our Dr said that Ross River fever is a bigger threat locally than Japanese Encephalitis, not sure if you get RR fever where you are.

I've come across quite a few now who have had it twice; three of whom are anti-vaxxers who won't mask. Others are just in situations where they are around groups of people a lot, so they're at a higher risk. Whenever I see the weekly death numbers I'm astonished, as we were getting twice that, daily, only two months ago. I hope it's accurate; I fear we are going to get a big data dump at some point. Or not, and it'll only appear when the excess death numbers are analysed.

Dengue outbreaks occur in northern Australia, but scientists in Australia have harnessed an existing mosquito bacterium which cuts down the Dengue-carrying mosquito quite significantly. They're hoping to be able to do the same for other mosquito-borne illnesses. Dengue-blocking mosquitoes here to stay | Pursuit by The University of Melbourne (unimelb.edu.au)

Yes, it really does depend on the award rate; I mean, you can't be paid minimum wage if you're a teacher or whatever. Each industry has its own 'ladder' where the more experience you have, the more you get paid. Employers don't pay health insurance, but do pay 10% superannuation and also must pay workcover insurance, in case you're injured on the workplace. Also provide paid leave. Unless you're a contract worker, of course - then you're on your own.

Yes, it seems really weird that it goes up to 21. My 19yr old niece is living independently and working full time as a manager. No one is subsidising anything.

It's $21.38 in Australia, although that is misleading. There are youth wages for people under 21, there's a different scheme for certain people with a disability (who also receive the disability pension), and there's a different scheme for apprentices. Also I believe certain industries would have a higher minimum wage due to unions. So if you're a part-time beginner worker in retail, and you're 15 or under, you get $10 an hour (more on weekends and public holidays). That's half the adult wage, which is why we see lots of 14 year olds working fast food or the check out at the supermarket. Keep in mind wages have stuck fast in Australia over the last ten or more years, especially considering inflation. I was getting paid $5 an hour to work over 30 years ago as a teen, but that $5 could have bought a lot more than todays $10.

I'm no expert, but it sounds a bit like the 'lizard brain' (old brain, primal brain, basal ganglia) vs the 'mammal brain' (new brain, limbic system, neocortex). In other words, the old part of the brain just reacts. Big predator, fight or flight. The new part of the brain is the part where we can regulate our emotions, draw on memories and learned experiences etc. I assume what the doctor is saying is that the child's reactions are wholly based on the primitive brain reactions, and he's not using the more complex part at all - and assume he's meaning this metaphorically, because of course, we use all of our brain. I don't know that it really helps you all that much - after all, I assume you know that he struggles to regulate his emotions, draw on prior learning and so forth.

I finally read the article, some disappointing quotes from the Vic premier, along the lines of "get over it". Can't believe how much things have changed. Apparently 65% of adults and 64% of kids have had covid, which is a lot more than reported numbers suggest. It sounds about right to me. Oh, you've reminded me to try to fit in things like dentist, too, before the wave really takes off.

Headline about the new wave in Australia today. New Covid-19 wave to hit NSW within weeks, chief health officer says | Health | The Guardian

Opposite here. In our state in NSW there is no lower legal age for working. I see 14 year olds working a lot. I know 13 year olds working. Most of them at fast food places. There are massive work shortages in Australia at the moment and of course it's cheaper to hire younger people (in Australia there are different wages dependent on your age, up to 21). I don't know if I like it, honestly. I hope there isn't this expectation that kids have to step up just because there's shortages - do we really need a dozen fast food places in every town, plus cafes and so on? On the other hand both my husband and I spent our lives working in our family businesses and our kids do the same too - it seems normal. But that feels more like helping out, I don't know. We didn't get paid for it or anything.

I gave my husband a bunch of Michael Crichton books for his birthday, and I ended up reading Jurassic Park and another one about a plane, Flight something. Jurassic Park was pretty interesting in parts (the rants about science, for example); I've never been able to watch the whole movie but I think it's different, plot-wise. The Flight something or other book was a bit more dull, and had a bit of a silly twist. The guy evidently hated unions! Reminded me of some book I read years ago which went on a long rant about the evils of socialised medicine, might have been Tom Clancy. This wasn't as bad though. It all reads like historical fiction nowadays, set firmly in the 80s, but I was thinking it's sad Crichton passed before the pandemic, it would've been interesting to see what he made of it. Apart from those I've been reading Rick Riordan's Egypt series, which we bought for my son's birthday, and re-reading a few other books. My kindle was finally returned to me, hurrah. I did download a new book, a nature non-fiction about a woman visiting an island in Scotland with her horses.

I think it's important to separate the ideas of population-level concerns and individual concerns. If the OP is under a lot of stress, I would not advise digging deep into research on possibilities post-covid. Focus on recovering. While there's plenty of research on post-covid issues, you're not personally going to encounter all 100 plus symptoms. On a population level, it is a huge concern, which is why those in power need to make the big decisions, from improving air quality to funding new generation vaccines and so forth. On an individual level, the main thing you can do is wear a mask around other people, especially indoors, and do your best to help other people.

I was one of those kids who taught themselves to read before school, so I don't ever remember not reading. My eldest daughter was the same, was reading fluently before turning 4. My son needed consistent lessons from me in order to read fluently by 6, but he has a pretty wacky memory, doesn't remember many events from his early years, so I doubt he'd remember not being able to read. Interestingly enough his language scores are off the charts and he's a more adventurous reader than my daughter, who tends to stick to the series she likes.

I had this conversation about an hour ago with a local woman I know. Not about homeschooling, but just about how the woman so often has to sacrifice her career because men won't step up. The only people I know who have balanced kids and a successful career have been those whose husbands work part-time, and who have extended family (usually her mum) who can child-mind, do appointments etc. It takes the equivalent of a full time person to do those things, whether it is literally one person, or several people doing bits.

I always forget about Melbourne Cup Day. Coming from an anti-gambling family I didn't know much about it - then when I sent my kids to preschool, they actually had a Melbourne Cup themed day - I was absolutely floored. Could not believe they'd promote an event that's basically animal cruelty plus gambling. Shows just how much it's embedded into society! You'll have to keep me up to date, I've finally closed my Twitter account, combination of Elon Musk thing and just getting information overwhelm (doomscrolling). Family invited us to dinner inside RSL club next week - I will decline. They already know I'm super covid cautious so won't be offended.

Just had a segment on the ABC about the new wave in Australia; cases up by 25% in Victoria (one of the most populated states). Said that if you had 4 vaccines, your chance of dying was 1/30th of those who had none, which is huge (this is Australian data). They actually said 'wear N95 masks', not just 'wear a mask' which was good. I haven't followed the data in Australia for a while because I can't really interpret it, things have changed so much. I assumed a new wave would start as we headed towards Christmas.

Yes, it's pretty easy to prove that's not true. Playgrounds were shut in Victoria after transmission there (during lockdown, the only possible place in the chain of transmission). While I agree that it wasn't a good idea, I think it's an exaggeration to say it's impossible, just far less likely, to catch Covid outdoors. Actually, my daughter caught a bad cold (not covid, after several tests), after we visited a large playground in the city. Lots of other kids scrambling over equipment, so it didn't surprise me, although I was annoyed.

Do you have outdoor time? You could hammer into the earth. There's also Styrofoam but it's pretty bad environmentally. You could do thick cardboard boxes, though, and you could also use plastic knives as saws on them. Hand-drills are good rather than screwdrivers (not electric, the old fashioned kind). You could definitely hand-drill into soft wood.