It’s been four years, and we are still dealing with the aftermath of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been fascinating to see the differences between those who never complied, those who dropped their masks plus all COVID rules as soon as the government allowed them to, and those who will remain “broken” forever.

In the middle of these groups, however, are children. They were the least likely to suffer from COVID the way an elderly person or an individual with preexisting conditions would, yet they faced some of the most extreme restrictions and rules. Their schools and communities were shut down, and they were forced to wear masks during crucial developmental years.

The adults who could discern between truth and government propaganda and who boldly defended the children were not seen as heroes; in fact, they were considered quite the opposite. The adults who did the right thing by calling out the illogical rules of COVID were demonized by the media, shunned from their social circles, and called everything from “science deniers” to “conspiracy theorists.”

To say what our government did to children during the pandemic is criminal is an understatement, which is why it was infuriating to watch Anthony Fauci admit that his COVID rules were not based on science but instead “sort of just appeared.”

The rules that appeared out of thin air turned out to be so destructive and damaging to children that even left-leaning news publications are now speaking of how harmful they were to children. A BBC article notes, “At the age of five, children with speech and language difficulties are six times less likely to achieve expected targets in English, and 11 times less likely to achieve math targets by the end of primary school.”

The same article tells the story of a five-year-old’s speech struggles during the pandemic and how COVID restrictions were to blame for her lack of interaction with friends and family. The article says, “She had no interaction with anyone her own age, so that slowed down her development.” Furthermore, the child “was frustrated and upset at being unable to communicate: she would either bang her head on the wall or hit herself.”

In Washington State, schools remained shut down with the help of the teachers unions, and once they did return to the classroom, it did not come without heavy restrictions. In 2022, a principal in Kirkland sent out an email informing parents that because the weather would be above 38 degrees, students were expected to eat lunch outside.

The mother of an affected student said, “Our kids are political actors in a show they don’t want to be in. When we are putting kids in 38-degree weather because we want to put on a show and pretend we’re doing something about COVID. … It’s just completely absurd.”

She also revealed that the students were allowed only a 15-minute lunch, had to socially distance, and were “not allowed to speak in outside voices.”

A John Hopkins University study reports “modest” delays for children who were five years or younger. Among those delays were a decrease in problem-solving, a decrease in personal social skills, and a decrease in communication skills. It is suspected that the developmental delays were significant, so in 2022, the CDC quietly “updated” the milestones for babies and children.

We have yet to see all the harmful effects that Fauci’s made-up COVID rules had on children, but one thing is certain: The restrictions that were placed on children were egregious and damaging. Adults placed their own irrational fears over the health and well-being of children during the pandemic, and Fauci, along with his team of “experts,” is to blame for it.