Children are known to be not significantly exposed to infection with the Coronavirus, and deaths among them due to the disease were relatively few around the world. However, children are still victims of the virus in many other ways.
From increasing rates of mental health problems to concerns about high levels of abuse, neglect and potential harm to their development, the pandemic threatens to have a “devastating legacy” for children, according to the BBC.
Closing schools closes life
Of course, school closures harm children’s education. But schools are not just institutions of learning. They are places where children connect, develop emotionally, and, for some, are a refuge from a troubled family life.
“When we close schools, we shut down their lives,” said Professor Russell Viner, President of the Royal College of Child Medicine and Health.
He says the epidemic has caused a host of harm to children in all areas, from isolation and loneliness to suffering from sleep problems and reduced physical activity.
And it appears that it is not just a matter of school closures, as the pressure the epidemic has imposed on families, with high levels of unemployment and financial insecurity, combined with stay-at-home orders, has increased pressure on families across the globe.
Mental health problems are on the rise
Unsurprisingly, there are clear signs that disruptions in children’s lives are affecting their mental health.
The Child and Young People’s Mental Health Report in England for 2020 is the official assessment of the state of children’s well-being. The report has tracked more than 3,000 children over the past four years. The results of the latest study, published in the fall, found that one in six children between the ages of 5 and 16 had a potential mental health disorder, compared to one in nine three years earlier. Older girls scored the highest.
Children participating in the research cited family tensions and financial concerns as well as feelings of isolation from friends and fear of the virus as causes of their problems.
Delayed growth in children
Some doctors and nurses are concerned about the impact of the pandemic on newborns.
Research shows that the first two to three years of a child’s life is the most important period in their growth and development. This became known as the 1001 day schedule. If children encounter problems during this period, they may find themselves in an unstable situation for life.
The Health Visits Institute says that services have been severely damaged during the epidemic, with specialist nurses withdrawing from their duties to assist in the front line against Corona. In some areas, the number of health visitors has decreased by half.
This comes in addition to social distancing rules that mean to many parents that the only support they received was online. Meanwhile, the absence of children’s groups and friendships that develop naturally means that children in a time of pandemic have not benefited from the stimulus of social contact necessary for their development.
Children with disabilities are “imprisoned”
The report notes that there are about one million children with special educational needs and disabilities – about one in 10 of them suffer from complex conditions that limit normal life, such as severe cerebral palsy or cystic fibrosis.
The nature of the epidemic and the response to it created greater challenges for many of these children and their families.
Those with the most complex of conditions may need care at home from professional nurses and caregivers. These services became more difficult to obtain as employees were redeployed or charities were forced to reduce their support networks.
In some cases, children end up being “locked in their homes … not many have had a formal education since the lockdown began,” said Christine Linehan, director of the Council for Disabled Children.
A pandemic that has made violence “invisible”
For some children, the epidemic has had dire consequences, with increasing incidences of harm and abuse.
Between April and September, there were 285 reports of child deaths and incidents of serious harm, including child sexual exploitation. This number increases by more than a quarter over the same period of the previous year.
England’s Children’s Commissioner, Anne Longfield, worries that these numbers are just a small sample of what is really going on, arguing that school closures and stay-at-home orders have made a generation of vulnerable children “invisible” to social workers.
The figures indicate that before the pandemic, there were already more than 2 million children in England and Wales living in families affected by one of the “toxic triads” – domestic abuse, parental addiction to drugs and alcohol, or severe mental health problems. The fear today is that these numbers will rise dramatically.
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