“Children’s stress can be positively improvised by reducing parental stress … Parental stabilization is key.”

The children were victims of the sudden traumatic changes caused by the outbreak of Covid-19. Basant K. Pradhan, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at Rowan University Cooper Medical School, USA Platy Gandas About coping mechanisms for both parents and children.

< class="">How did Covid affect your child’s mental health?

Covid has a huge impact on people’s mental health. When adults are affected, it also drips into children in many ways. First of all, the stressful effects of Covid depend on the child’s developmental age and associated psychosocial changes. For example, children under the age of 7 react differently than children over the age of 7 because of their level of cognitive development. Under severe stress, children under the age of 7 are often affected not only psychologically but also physically. Children over the age of 7 are primarily psychologically affected. Although more research is needed on this topic, data from adult studies suggest that Covid is adversely affecting children, primarily children under the age of seven. It increased their anxiety, lowered their level of confidence, and affected, among other things, their sleep, socialization, and exposure to the sun. In the United States, as a pediatric psychiatrist, we observe that children under the age of 7 are more anxious and children over the age of 7 are more annoyed and depressed. It also exacerbated the problem of overweight due to internet addiction, insomnia, and a stress-induced diet. In addition, internet addiction has made them more withdrawn and impulsive from the social world. In fact, many children commit suicide.

What is the way to deal with their stress in these conditions?

Now, talking about stress levels among children is different compared to adults. Children are stress-resistant, but can be vulnerable. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to the mental health of parents in order to reduce the stress level, because reducing the stress of parents can positively improvise the stress of children. Therefore, it is important to increase the psychosocial stability of parents whose lives are suffering because of Covid. For example, most people have relied on the Internet. There is no socialization. So, as a parent, it is important to adapt to this major social change. Through this adaptation, children’s lives can be improvised. In other words, parental stabilization is key. You also need to improve your sleep schedule, level of physical activity, stress management, and more. In addition, children with anxiety have been observed to have low levels of vitamin D in their blood. This is especially important for pre-existing depressed and autistic children. Therefore, apart from psychology, their biological development needs to be monitored. Enhancing pro-social activities while adhering to yoga, meditation, social distance and related restrictions, and spending time in nature can also be very helpful.

With blockages in place in most states of India, how can children deal within their homes?

Despite the blockade, we can further work to improve the micro-environment customized for all households. This is especially true in India, where the population is uneven and the psychosocial environment is unique. The microenvironment involves exposing children to certain types of physical exercise, dietary consistency, and stress management through yoga and meditation. These can be done in our house. In addition to spending a good time with children, it is important to monitor the use of the Internet and popular media, especially traumatic news.

Did Online Learning Affect Your Child’s Cognitive Development?

Well, I don’t say it affects social development more than cognitive development. As you know, there are four aspects to development. Fine movement, coarse movement, language, society. Therefore, cognitive development is widely affected, but not IQ, and at a higher level of social development, thanks to increased online learning and children’s anxiety. It depends on the age group. For example, whenever a child under the age of 3 has a traumatic experience, it affects the child’s social and cognitive development. If the child is 3 years or older, this type of destruction has less effect. Beyond that, it has more social impact than cognitive.

How did it affect their personality?

The data on this is mixed. Online learning has helped children who are absent from school. Anxious children, children with mild autism, or children with a history of bullying like the online settings because they avoid being bullied at school. However, in the long run, they will influence the development of their personality and skills, such as how to work in a team structure and how to deal with stress, and adapt to the demands of society. Many students, on the other hand, did not like when online learning was imposed due to Covid restrictions.

What precautions should be taken in the fear that the third wave of India could affect children? How should children be prepared to face the third wave?

As I said, lifestyle changes based on the child’s developmental stage are essential. Customization based on data on the child’s personal vulnerabilities, developmental levels, and parental cultural and psychological adaptation should be prioritized rather than general strategies. Many customizations can be enhanced regardless of blockades or social constraints. Second, it is important to limit exposure to media that relays traumatic messages. It is also important to avoid misunderstandings about government initiatives on how to mitigate disasters and avoid the lack of a unified voice. The disagreement in the message given by the leader can create a feeling of panic among the general public. You need to avoid it by having one spokesperson nationwide due to a national disaster like Covid. Managing communication is a very important strategy. Finally, in terms of education, having a hybrid model will work because it allows them to have a direct coping mechanism.

Why is India’s third wave said to hit children so hard?

In the second wave, we have some accustomed to Covid’s patterns and distributions, and Covid’s social determinants. Previously it was believed that sunlight was a protective factor, but it proved wrong in the second wave of India. So I’m not sure how the third wave affects it, or worse than the second wave. Especially in the United States, I’ve learned that Covid’s cases are in full control, thanks to successful vaccinations and increased social distance, so it doesn’t work. But with that said, we don’t know what kind of mutants we may face in the third wave, so we need to be prepared in the unlikely event.

Does Covid Affect Newborn Children?

Studies show that the youngest person to get Covid is 4 years old. However, if the fetal mother has Covid, it affects oxygenation and, in theory, can affect it in severe cases. Further research is needed for newborn cases.

Will it be like seasonal flu in the next few years?

I don’t think it will be eradicated because the virus is rapidly changing its structure (via a mechanism called antigenic shift and antigenic drift). Smallpox could be eradicated in that case because the virus was stable, as the influenza literature suggests. Second, Covid is more toxic than normal influenza, so it’s just in the form of a pandemic. Even if you stay in an isolated pocket somewhere in the world, it can be dangerous because people move from one place to another. Therefore, it seems unlikely that Covid will be completely terminated. It is not yet known if it will be more restricted like the flu. However, previous data show that mutant strains are likely not as benign as normal influenza.

What is the role of the parent?

Covid is a unique situation that affects us all over the world and limits our social life. Our role as parents is to report. That is, you need to communicate clearly with your children so that they are not over-exposed to information and at the same time keep them away from the information they need. Therefore, communication with parents is very important to convey the correct message-it should have some elements of facts associated with evidence-based hope. Parents need to receive feedback from the ward about their feelings. They must believe in the children’s self-esteem. They need to sit with them on a regular basis to assess how restrictions and restrictions are changing their lives and how they want to change things. Most importantly, parents need to review, reschedule, and reassess their coping strategies and levels of their skills to further customize what they can do to balance their stress management. At the community level, we should try to help people and give back to society.

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