COVID's Impact on Children

"Although the COVID-19 pandemic will surely be remembered as one of the defining events in modern Canadian history -- cutting across all generations -- no generation will have experienced a greater impact than children."

"I t will be some time before we fully appreciate the impact of this disruption on their formative years."

"Clinicians have claimed that this increase [in eating disorders] is unlike anything they have seen before."

Children First Canada report

"We must put children at the heart of pandemic recovery plans and invest in the short- medium- and long-term solutions needed for children to survive and thrive."

"Children made enormous sacrifices throughout the pandemic to protect their elders and keep our country safe, but as a society we have failed them. Their rights to an education, survival and development have been largely ignored, and the cost of social and political inaction is too high."

Sara Austin, CEO, Children First Canada

"I think children and youth need to be in a social environment to grow. Friendships are really important for growth and development, and when you are not able to experience these friendships, it can get very lonely."

"I think loneliness is a big part of the deterioration of mental health for children and youth."

Sum Wah, representative, Children First Canada

 

Children are well known globally to have experienced major disruptions in all areas of their lives, beginning with social contacts, school attendance, recreational opportunities, sport and artistic activities, all have been constricted and restricted, with children finding themselves at critical times of their lives, sequestering at home with their families. Left with little outlets and opportunities to explore the world they will fully inherit, to make friends, to be exposed to new learning opportunities, they have languished, their mental health impacted along with their physical health.

The report issued by Children First Canada, Raising Canadian 2021 represents the fourth report issued from the organization which tracks threats to childhood nurturance, development and well-being. Right at the very apex of the expressed concerns was a red flag for mental health, long a focus of concern, now intensified with the incursion into daily life everywhere, by the global pandemic.

The four specialized pediatric hospitals operating in the province of Ontario realized child admissions for eating disorders in an increase of a whopping 223 percent over capacity in June of 2021. A situation described by community pediatricians as representing merely the tip of the iceberg. There have been reports from several children's hospitals of spikes in admissions for attempts at suicide, in the past year-and-a-half.

Special emphasis was given to the report where it addresses child abuse, with hospitals reporting increases in cases of child abuse where clinicians have treated twice as many infants as compared to previous years, for maltreatment-related concerns. Absences from school attendance have served to cover the instances of child abuse taking place in the home, often detected by sharply concerned eyes in the school environment.

Food insecurity among households in Canada has increased by 39 percent. Statistics indicate that households with children are likelier to be affected, the report revealed. Exposure and opportunities at physical activity and play throughout the pandemic period has been sharply reduced, impacting on children's development, and their physical and emotional balance.

In the decade just passed, Canada fell from tenth to 30th place in a UNICEF ranking of children's well-being in 38 affluent nations, based on a variety of measurements. Sum Wah with Children First Canada speaks of how difficult for many children school disruptions have been. "School can be a lifeline for a lot of children." And that can often include fulfilling children's most basic needs.

Meals, as example, are often part of school attendance for some children, with teachers representing another trusted adult helping to ensure that children are all right. Concerns such as mental health and poverty raised in this year's report have been equally noted in the past, the difference being that the pandemic has made these critical issues in children's path to adulthood more visible.