Parents are revealing that at least one of their children has been affected mentally by the pandemic. While it has been clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of children, the extent of the harm that has been caused is only being investigated now. Understanding the effects that have been had is going to be vital in making sure support and resources are set up to help these children when life gets back to normal. While it may seem impossible, studies and surveys are going to help professionals and parents navigate their child’s mental health and put them on the right path.
According to Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, they wanted to see just how the pandemic has affected children and this led them to complete a poll of 1,000 parents across the US. They wanted to know how parents have been dealing with their children’s mental health, and if they had more than one child, to focus on the child they are most concerned about.
The most general and simple question seemed to have the most resounding effect. They asked parents to just describe their general feelings about the pandemic and the effects they believe it has had on their child’s mental health. It is important to note that the impact on mental health is global, as a similar result was seen by Sick Kids in Toronto.
•The majority, 71%, said that the pandemic has had a toll on at least one of their children’s mental health
•69% said that this pandemic has been the worst thing to happen to their child
•Following in at 67%, parents said that they had regrets and they wished they were more vigilant about their child’s health from the very beginning
It is easy to look back and think about what you could have done differently, but it is also safe to say that parents were not prepared to deal with this pandemic and the unknown.
When it came to the specific parts of the pandemic that parents found took the biggest toll on their children, they ruled that the isolation was the worst. This was followed closely by remote learning and too much screen time. These parents listed these things as more feared by them than the actual virus.
The researchers said that it may be hard to believe, but this is all good news. The reason they state that is good news is because these are all issues that we are starting to see being resolved. However, 64% of parents said that they think this pandemic will have lifelong effects on their children.
Sources: Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Sick Kids