As in the spring, children most often sought contact about sexuality, but the number of conversations about relationships and love has been outdone by emotional problems. There was less talk of falling in love (-25 percent), friendship (-32 percent) and heartbreak (-31 percent) than during the first lockdown. The Kindertelefoon is concerned about this.
De Wilde: “That says that young people across the board are having a hard time. You see the number of heavy conversations increasing.
“Is this ever going to stop?”
According to child psychologist Tischa Neve, the strict corona measures are hard on the youngest Dutch people. “At the first lockdown, everything was exciting and new. But now the question among children is: will this ever stop?”
Children not only lack perspective, but in many cases the home situation also deteriorates, Neve notices around him. “Parents themselves find it more difficult and worry more. People closer to them get infected with the corona virus or get into financial difficulties. Of course you will always notice that in the families.”
Especially in a lesser home situation, school and social contacts are important outlets for dealing with the problems. The fact that these are now disappearing could also lead to more children struggling with emotional problems and calling the Kindertelefoon, according to Neve.
Neve: “If problems in the family cannot be dealt with, you see that they often have a teacher or girlfriends at school. They miss that now. Things that children can normally carry easily because they have distraction are now more difficult. can make you feel worse. “
Children resilient
Because the situation is so new, it is still unknown whether children will suffer from this lack in the long term. Neve’s personal expectation is that children with a good foundation will soon pick up on it again when they go back to school.
“Children are generally very resilient. But for children who have problems at home or who already had a lot of trouble to survive in society, such a period comes on top of that. I am most concerned about that.”
For those children it is important that their immediate environment is alert. “Parents and teachers must keep a close eye on things: how are children and young people really doing?”, Says Neve. “If there is, a loving environment, the vast majority of problems will be rectified.”
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