As part of the response to the Covid19 pandemic, some countries, such as Australia, instituted harsh prolonged lockdowns which included closing schools for months at a time. This was unnecessary, particularly since there was little virus at the time in some of these places. The effects of school closures have been devastating, both emotionally and educationally, for children, and have set their education way behind. This has potential repercussions for their whole lives if there is no proper catch up. In Victoria, Australia, for instance, children have lost almost the entire year of education. So far, the government has been totally ineffective in addressing this problem. In reality there are only two appropriate choices; the first being losing the year, which would mean children finish school year older than unusual, or reducing holidays, which are very generous in Australia; i.e. having longer school years for this generation of children. Doing nothing and letting the children muddle on is a very poor way of dealing with the situation.