COVID-19 has different effects on children: care must be taken

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been addressing the impact of this crisis on children. Many of us think that children have a unique elasticity and can recover from anything.

But like all pediatricians, we know that children are not just small adults. Children and adolescents are currently experiencing acute psychological trauma-especially because of the ongoing pandemics with protest and growing public anxiety. We must urgently pay attention.

Studies show that traumatic events in childhood can have adverse health effects throughout their life course.

A groundbreaking study in the 1990s found that children who had an unfavorable experience in childhood were far more likely to have serious physical and mental health problems such as heart disease, depression, and substance abuse. I found it expensive. Most of the research was white and middle-class. Subsequent studies found that children in urban colored communities experienced an even worse childhood experience due to structural racism, resulting in exposure to poverty, discrimination and community violence. It was

If anything, children have only the bare minimum of equipment to deal with the brutal distress that results from catastrophic and global changes such as public health emergencies. We learned this lesson before. For example, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria two years ago, the poor federal emergency response was spike Childhood depression, anxiety and suicide in Puerto Rico.

Therefore, if a pandemic response addresses only the transmission of infectious diseases, the health of the most promising generation will deteriorate-a disastrous byproduct of distress and trauma.

Only responses that braid public health, health care, and education can provide adults with the resources to effectively support the lives of children.

There are ways to take immediate action.

First, a healthy, loving adult and supportive environment can reduce traumatic toxicity and long-term effects.

In New York City, nurses and community health workers telemedicine families with babies, including all babies born to families living in homeless shelters, to alleviate the stress of parenting during this difficult time. Keeps checking using.

LGBTQ is rethinking virtual services, including mindfulness and telehealth services for youth. Promotes remote group discussions with young people on racial disparity and structural racism, and trains how to train thousands of New Yorkers working in the grassroots organization of the color community Mental health first aid..

It’s never too early to understand what makes health and shapes the world.

Second, parents need to be frank about COVID-19 at a level appropriate for their child, admitting their anxiety and how they manage it. This allows children to label and verify their emotions and feel protected.

Infants may not be able to verbalize distress and discomfort during which time special protection may be required. Parents of young children should be aware of the signs and symptoms of anxiety and traumatic stress-from moody, clinging, irritability to nightmares, carelessness, regression of behavior-for example, previously trained in the bathroom. The kids started to wet the bed again.

In older children, traumatic events can exacerbate the signs and symptoms of depression, suicidal ideation and behavior, and general anxiety. Although it is often difficult to distinguish sadness from clinical depression, parents must always communicate openly. And if parents are worried their child is thinking about suicide, the best way to find out is to ask. Explicitly asking, studying and proving by an expert can literally save the life of your child.

Finally, parents and caregivers seeking COVID-19 pandemic coping strategies for adolescents with a complex traumatic history should include Foundation Trust New guide.. The Ministry of Health also Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Support Center Provide free telemedicine to infants experiencing developmental delay through us Early intervention program..

As we continue to work on the acute stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic, our children are absorbing the stress of parental distress, school-based support fluctuations, and family illness and loss. The extent of our efforts cannot be determined by current hospitalization and mortality statistics alone.

If our attention should be shaken, we will deal with the consequences of the pandemic all the time after it subsides.

Oxiris Barbot, MD is a New York City Health Commissioner.

Daniel Stevens, MD, Vice Chairman of the New York City Department of Health for Family and Child Health

Last updated: June 29, 2020