Returning to our old lives is going to be an adjustment – particularly for young people and children / Image: Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash
A sense of relief washed over the country when the roadmap out of lockdown was unveiled last month.
After weeks of uncertainty and speculation, the government’s published exit plan provided some much-needed clarity – and a set of dates on which particular restrictions will be lifted.
All the talk now is about a return to ‘normality’ – but what happens when we get there?
We’ve been social distancing and wearing masks for so long, even the sight of large crowds mingling shoulder-to-shoulder on television can be a briefly unsettling sight.
Returning to our old lives is going to be an adjustment – particularly for young people and children.
According to Dr Michael Barnish, Head of Genetics & Nutrition at REVIV Global Ltd – a worldwide health and wellness organisation with a HQ right here in Manchester – some parents have expressed concerns regarding how their children will adapt.
“Many of my patients have children and their own anxiety is being exacerbated by worrying about their children and how they’re going to cope when they return to normal,” he stated.
“Life has been disrupted for a year now and many people have expressed their worry about being in contact with other people or getting on public transport again but adults can talk about their feelings.
“Children aren’t as well equipped, but they struggle too.”
Dr. Becky Spelman, Psychologist and Clinical Director of Private Therapy Clinic, also believes that younger people could find the shift of surroundings somewhat jarring when the time finally comes to exit lockdown.
Dr. Becky Spelman, Psychologist and Clinical Director of Private Therapy Clinic
Dr Spelman stated: “It’s going to cause anxiety for many of us to return to normal including young people and often younger people are not very good at talking about their emotions – they haven’t learnt how to articulate them just yet.
“You’ll see signs of young people being very quiet and introverted and you might not know what’s wrong. Something to look out for is anxious avoidance: This is when someone is scared or intimidated by a situation and you’ll see a very natural avoidance so that they can keep safe and comfortable in the short term.”
According to Dr Spelman, any children showing signs of anxiety should be “encouraged to confront situations” and “taken out” of these environments if it becomes too much; re-approaching them at a later time.
“If [children] are feeling very anxious encourage them to stay in the situation and reassure them that the anxiety will get better with time,” the doctor stated.
“Also, ask them what they’re feeling, this is a question that parents can forget to ask. But actually, saying what are you feeling?
“Can you describe it? Can you put a label on it? Is it fear, anxiety, sadness? Trying to understand your child’s feelings is important in helping you be able to address it.
“Ultimately, they need confront the situations that are making them feel that way.”
Children may suffer anxiety when surroundings change after lockdown, according to experts / Image: Atoms via Unsplash
Dr Spelman also emphasised that children will become more confident over time.
“If they have bouts of low mood because they haven’t been as active or engaging in social activities as much during lockdown, they definitely need to become more active and regain a more balanced life,” she stated.
“If it is anxiety then they need to learn to sit with those feelings and not avoid situations. Encourage your child to get doing lots of things and with time they will notice they will become more confident.
“If they really don’t want to [visit] certain places the question you need to ask is do they not want to go because they won’t enjoy it? Or they don’t want to go because they’re feeling uncertain of the situation?
“If it’s the latter you will want to encourage them to go regardless and avoidance here isn’t helpful and you want to encourage your child in overcoming that.”
More information and support for young children and mental health is available on the Young Minds website.
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The man saving Manchester’s city pigeons from ‘stringfoot’
Daisy Jackson
A man has been patrolling the streets of Manchester to save our city’s pigeons from a condition known as ‘stringfoot’.
We all walk past hundreds of the birds every day in the city centre and they often get a bad rap – but one now-viral TikTok account is hoping to change all that.
In a series of heartwarming videos, one man has been heading out in his free time to treat pigeons afflicted with the dreaded ‘stringfoot’.
It’s a common sight now to see pigeons missing toes or walking around Manchester on deformed feet, which is often caused when the poor birds become tangled up in foreign matter.
Sometimes this is bits of string, plastic, thread, hair or a number of other things usually dropped by humans.
But with quick intervention from Tom, he can save these pigeons from a life of limping around town.
He’s been heading out armed with bags of seed to lure groups of pigeons close to him, before carefully catching the afflicted animal and carefully cutting away the material around its foot.
He uses things like stitch pickers to remove the thread, before cleaning up the pigeon’s foot with saline spray and antiseptic and gently releasing them again.
Tom said he started helping pigeons ‘sort of by accident’ when a bird with stringfoot came up to his flat.
In one month alone, he was able to catch and treat 15 pigeons, saving them from infection and injury.
And the account is getting lots of love and driving awareness for stringfoot and changing people’s perception of pigeons.
One person wrote on one of Tom’s videos: “We did pigeons so wrong as a society. Thanks for helping!”
Another said: “Pigeons Are NOT TRASH, they are a birds, who need help like cats, dogs and every living animals.”
And someone else commented: “These sort of videos make me cry because we’re so mean to pigeons, this might be the first time someone’s done something kind to them.”
You can find out more on how to help pigeons in your area HERE.
Benjamin Šeško quote resurfaces as Manchester United switch sole focus to pursuit of Slovenia star
Danny Jones
Slovenia striker Benjamin Šeško is now considered the primary transfer target for Manchester United for this summer window, as per multiple reports, and with the links only growing stronger as a quote relating to him and former RB Salzburg forward Erling Haaland has cropped back up.
Now on the books at the franchise club’s German counterpart in Leipzig, Šeško is one of the most highly sought-after talents in Europe at present, showing not only huge potential and a unique profile but already some impressive returns when it comes to goal contributions.
Although Haaland is ahead in terms of numbers, they do bear some resemblance in terms of height, physicality and speed for their size, and while they barely came across each other in the Red Bull setup – Šeško being loaned out to fellow Austrian side Liefering – they have drawn plenty of comparisons.
In fact, according to the 22-year-old himself, some feel he might just be “better” than the Norwegian phenomenon. At least that’s what some teammates and former colleagues are claimed to have said.
The retired defensive midfielder elaborated that Šeško was arguably the more natural all-round athlete, detailing that he has always been “smooth with the ball, very good technique, good finishing, and he jumps so high; very, very good with the head – it’s unbelievable.”
Aufhauser went on to add, however: “Erling was mentally a monster and better at the same age. This is the last five, 10 per cent that Benji has to get.”
It was also noted that while the emerging prospect may have just edged out the now fully-fledged Manchester City superstar in some departments at an early age, the big number nine always managed to find the back of the net more often.
He’s certainly kept that up in the years since then…
A 2022 quote from Šeško is all well and good, but Haaland has proved plenty of paper in just a few short years at the Etihad.
It’s also worth noting that the two attackers are not just pretty equally quick in a straight line, but both as tall as each other, clocking in at exactly 6ft 4in, with the Man City man barely three years his senior.
On the other hand, Šeško is known for keeping up multiple sports besides just football (basketball, in particular),
Besides their position, he told Amazon Prime Video Sport that he believes there is a lot of value not just in being sized up against the likes of Haaland but in trying to take cues from other pros in training, having also named a previous Red Devil himself as a key role model: one Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Most of this talk probably sounds all well and good to most United fans, but another key stumbling block in terms of a move for the budding young goalscorer is RB Leipzig’s supposed asking price, as the Bundesliga outfit is said to value him in the region of £70m.
Nevertheless, The Athletic now writes that INEOS and head coach Ruben Amorim are now solely focused on trying to sign Šeško, having previously narrowed it down to him and Premier League-proven Ollie Watkins.
Even if they get it done, the question is, will the confident forward suit English football as much as Watkins or dare we say Haaland – and furthermore, if they do, what might this mean for Manchester United’s current centre forwards?
The Manc -
3rd March 2021 
