For children and parents in 2020, it’s feeling an awful lot like 1820. Children in 2020 are expected to be seen and not heard. But unlike 1820, they can’t just go outside and play for hours unsupervised in order to burn off steam. The children of 2020 are meant to be out of school for months at a time, with playgrounds, parks, and stores closed to them. They, and their parents, are supposed to just quietly accept it. Children in cities can’t make too much noise inside their apartments. And good news for children in the suburbs, you can go to your backyard, but that’s about it.

They are instructed to do this for their own good, but it’s not parents or experts in child development making that determination, but instead, politicians.