Concerns are emerging about the impact successive and prolonged lockdowns are having on children.
Mental health services are at capacity in several states, Victoria has reported an increase in young adult suicide, and experts fear that depriving kids of play time and preschool may delay physical and social development.
Diagnoses delayed for behavioural difficulties
Studies from Australia, Spain and China showed an increase in depressive symptoms and a decrease in life satisfaction among children and adolescents. In Victoria, eight girls under 18 died by suicide between January and July, compared with three in the same period in 2019.
A Queensland study found 15% to 20% of children had mild to moderate emotional or behavioural difficulties including anxiety, irritability, depression and sleep disturbance, and other studies recorded a rise in anxiety and depression among kids.
Director of the centre for community child health at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Professor Sharon Goldfeld tells Crikey that parents and paediatricians are seeing “worrying signs”, with concerns younger children are behind in both social and physical development from not being able to play at school.
“One of our concerns is that the long tail of COVID will emerge over time, and it won’t be surprising that some of these developmental concerns have emerged,” she said. She did stress though that there wasn’t enough data to draw conclusions.
But kids are resilient, and Goldfeld says once childcare and kindergarten open up kids are likely to catch up. The main concern was with older kids who were struggling with the yo-yoing of going to and from schools and who were seeing their parents stressed and anxious.
Another key concern is for children with disabilities. Those with emerging developmental issues from potential autism diagnoses to speech delays being unable to get expert assessments.
“There are difficulties around early intervention,” Goldfeld said. “While some of that can be done virtually not all of it can be.”
Not being able to get assessments means applying for funding from the National Disability Insurance Scheme could be delayed and important therapies postponed.
Are vaccines the answer?
The Therapeutic Good Administration has approved Pfizer and AstraZeneca for children over 12 and trials are under way on vaccinating those younger. While those over 12 with underlying health conditions can access the vaccine, kids otherwise aren’t yet eligible, although the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is assessing this.
Director of child and adolescent health at the University of Melbourne Professor Fiona Russell says children appear to be less affected by the Delta variant than adults — with surging case numbers in kids abroad probably due to them making up most of the unvaccinated population — but other risks had to be considered.
“The burden is the indirect effect of lockdown and closure of schools in terms of mental health,” she said.
“It’s really critical when decisions are being made that that’s also considered in decision-making because that’s crushing children and families.”
The long-term effects of COVID on children aren’t yet known, Russell says, as isolating potential long COVID symptoms from other viruses and psychological impacts is tough.
Opening schools crucial
Russell and Goldfeld believe sending kids back to school would benefit most kids and parents. Preliminary data shows the risk is low: in the UK in June, just 0.27% of primary school and 0.42% of secondary school kids tested positive, with similar rates among school staff.
This, Russell says, shows the risk of catching COVID at school was lower than at the home, especially if staff are prioritised in the vaccine rollout — which is starting to happen in Australia.
“There’s no such thing as zero risk,” Russell said, stressing other non-pharmaceutical measures had to be introduced in schools such as ventilation measures, CO2 monitors, extra testing, and cohorts to limit how many kids interacted with one another.
Mask wearing in schools and universities is being mandated throughout the USA due to the large numbers of children dying (both vaccinated and not) per New York Times.
I have an 11yo grandson who is struggling mentally with the Sydney lockdown. He can still speak to friends on FaceTime, but his Mum says that at times he is just too depressed to do so.
He’s wanting to go back to school because he says his Mum is his Mum and not a school teacher, but every time he hears the daily numbers of cases and deaths, his heart sinks a little lower. To his way of thinking, things are getting worse instead of better.
Added to his worries about the pandemic, are his worries for the future – his future and his friend’s, because of Climate change and the fact that there’s no real end in sight for that either.
I never in a million years, would have thought my grandson would become as sad as he has in the past year – and he is one child of many thousands who are no doubt feeling the impact of government “leaders” caring more about economic losses for their big business mates, than the children whose lives are being altered for the worse, with every stupid, inept decision they make!
Amber the bit about schools is rubbish. Children under 12 are the second biggest group for new cases in NSW at the moment.
I think your comparing two totally different variables i.e. where did the under 12’s get covid, what is the % once spread out into the school population. Otherwise how do you explain the results of the paper referred to? Dunno how you reconcile the two without spending more time on it than I have.
The paper was pre Delta
Ah, OK. Couldn’t remember when delta hit GB
When covid appeared in australia – Jan or bit later? And then became more severe in community, my neighbour, a truck mechanic was considered as a front line worker (food supply chains etc). At the same time all health,education, and not sure who else were to receive vaccines. Has not happened. No vaccines was 1 issue. Other was freedom to choose to be vaccinated. Time has come for mandatory vaccination.
plus measures mentioned in the article so children have some sort of normality iin their lives.
needs to be done urgently! But fed govt does not do urgent.
A traumatised generation of kids – such a sad thing. I hope we give them the support they’ll need after this is all over, alongside the general population. Would be foolish to think people – especially kids – could just snap back to their pre-pandemic level of wellbeing.
The elephant in the room also being: kids on the lower end of the socio-economic scale will be coping it the worst.
Curious that Prof Russell didn’t mention masks as an extra non-pharma measure; research from Duke suggests that mandatory masks in schools makes a huge difference in reducing transmission. Also, will be interested to see what UK experience is after they go back to school (noting that June was before the big “freedom” experiment).