“It’s been such a tumultuous few years with so much uncertainty, so much disruption, so much optimism dashed at various points,” said Fagell, who works in Washington, DC. “Students feel the same way.”
Such school closures are affecting children around the world, according to new research published Tuesday in JAMA Pediatrics that looked at children and adolescents from 11 countries, including Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Spain, Turkey. , the United Kingdom and the United States. state
The research found that children experienced physical and mental health problems: anxiety, depression, less physical activity, food insecurity and disinterest in school — linked to school closures and social lockdowns.
“How much of that is the closure of schools compared to the complete social isolation that Covid has endured? It’s hard to tell, but clearly over time this is taking a bigger toll,” he said. Dr. David Rubin, director of Population Health Innovation at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who was not involved in the study.
“There are a lot of things that go into the fabric of a school day that builds a community around the child that they haven’t been able to take full advantage of in recent years,” Rubin said.
The research tracked many studies across the 11 countries and detailed severe impacts across all areas of health. Physical activity decreased in children by between a quarter and a half, according to the study. A US study estimated that two months of school closures would result in an increase of approximately 11% in childhood obesity.
Fortunately, two studies in England and Japan found no significant increase in national suicide rates during lockdowns, but about a quarter of teens in Canada and England reported an increase in depressive symptoms, according to the research.
“The toll that school closures and social isolation have taken on children’s mental health cannot be underestimated,” said Dr. Danielle Dooley, medical director of Community Affairs and Population Health at the Washington Defense Institute. Children’s Health at the National Children’s Hospital. Dooley wrote an accompanying editorial that was also published in Pediatrics, but was not part of the new research.
“As the latest wave of Omicron has shown, these discussions are not behind us. We must continue to fully weigh how each decision can impact children’s lives,” Dooley said.
Losing a safe haven
Going to school means connecting with friends and teachers, expanding your thinking and getting out and about, something Damour says is essential for kids.
It can also mean asking for help, said Sheri Madigan, a clinical psychologist and associate professor of child development at the University of Calgary in Canada.
“For some kids, school is a safe haven to reach out to a teacher and say, ‘I’m not doing well,’ or to reach out to a psychologist who might work there or a principal,” Madigan said.
For many, going back to remote learning means losing those resources, which is especially problematic as research shows mental distress is on the rise in children during the pandemic, Madigan said.
“It’s not just school closing, it’s all the things that come with school that are really critical for kids’ mental health,” Madigan said. “Interactions with your peers, access to mental health support, connections with teachers, a sense of community. These are really important ingredients for mental wellness.”
For many, the waves of Infections mean that children have been disrupting the way they learn many times throughout the year. That break from routine can be difficult to cope with.
“When routines go away, not only do we lose all the good activity that went into the routine. We also lose the peace of mind of not having to decide how to spend time,” Damour said.
A sense of predictability and control is key to all of our well-being. And for our kids, watching a virus spread across the world, not knowing if they’ll see their teacher next week or if they can count on lunch with their friends, can lead to major mental anguish, experts say.
lose ways of learning
“Whether it’s pro-virtual, pro-hybrid, in-person, whichever side it is, what’s becoming increasingly apparent is that there are no winners,” Fagell said. “You have instability in person and you have instability online.”
Part of the difficulty comes from not being able to adapt online learning plans to the different learning styles within a class.
Interacting with students through a screen makes it much more difficult, he added.
For kids, skills like paying attention, sitting in a classroom and interacting with each other take practice, Icard said. And when they return from learning at home, students can often be wild and unruly during the school day.
“They haven’t had enough interaction with each other, with teachers and with the community to smooth things over,” Icard said.
Go out into the world safely
Now, in the third year of the pandemic, families may be concerned about the milestones their children have missed, but addressing their social and emotional needs first will help children succeed in other ways over time, Fagell said.
For both your child’s well-being and academic performance, experts have tips for making the most of being out of the classroom.
“You could try using it as an opportunity to build some skills with your youth,” Madigan said, suggesting activities like walking, meditation and yoga. “If you have the time and space for that, that can be very helpful for kids.”
Keeping children occupied and getting them out of the house safely is also essential, Damour added.
“Find safe ways for them to have playdates, take them to the museum on the weekend, bring friends, take them outside to play in the snow or play sports with friends,” he said.
A stable routine can also help mitigate negative impacts, experts said.
“The research that is emerging shows that when we can establish routines, even when children are at home making sleeping, eating, screen time, physical activity, school time consistent for them, children tend to be better during the pandemic.” Madigan said. “Children often thrive on routine and school provides that.”
The family is first. academics second
All of that can be very beneficial for children, but educators and psychologists alike agreed that building a safe and supportive home environment is the best thing families can do right now.
“It’s not like, ‘Well, as long as we teach everyone this part of math or how to write a paragraph or how to come up with a thesis statement, we’ll be good.'” No, that’s secondary,” Fagell said. “We can only get to that point if we set the stage for his success emotionally.”
Fagell suggested that families not put too much pressure on their students to work harder to get to where they might have been academically if there hadn’t been a pandemic. Instead, focus on making a connection and reassuring children that the adult world is still watching over them.
“Our research shows that when children feel connected to their parents during the pandemic, they report better well-being,” Madigan said.
If in those moments of connection, families notice signs of depression in their children, which can often look like adolescent irritability, Damour recommends seeking the guidance of a pediatrician.
Families also need to give themselves and their children a break, because building a home where everyone does their best emotionally benefits everyone, Damour said.
“Children rarely do better than their parents,” he added, stressing that this is a difficult time for everyone and no one can be expected to keep things the same.
“The first thing a parent can do right now is not catch up academically, it’s stay calm and convey that while things are tough right now, they will get better,” Fagell said. “Help them process what’s going on in the world around them and be a constant, loving presence, because that’s the number one predictor of resilience.
“If that’s all a parent does at a time when they’re marinating in stress, they can pat themselves on the back.”
.
