Christine Gabbadon | Impact of COVID-19 the children

I was recently intrigued while watching an online Child Month Church Service to observe some pre-teen children sharing their thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic. They were very candid in their views while at the same time hopeful that things will soon change for the better.

One young boy shared that he misses linking up with his friends and cousins. He lamented not being allowed to play with the neighbourhood children as before. A girl shared that she liked online classes because the teacher sometimes dismisses the students early and she occasionally plays football outside. Another admitted to chatting a lot with her friends on social media and the phone when not in class. They also expressed fears of going outside or even to go shopping due to potential exposure to the virus.

However, these are the kids one may consider privileged or fortunate in many ways because they have access to technology and devices such as laptops, tablets and Wi-Fi. They also have parents or guardians who are able to ensure they are supervised at home and also to instil faith and encourage a sense of hope in the midst of much that is beyond their control. They made me feel a glimmer of hope for the future of our children, our nation and even the world.

But what about those children who don’t have access to the critical amenities for online learning? I fear we have lost a whole subset of the school cohort who have not been attending online classes. In the semi-rural community where I live, one mother who was rushing home for an online parent-teacher meeting said the teacher keeps complaining that it’s the same set of parents in the meetings and she desperately needs to speak to the others whose children have not been logging in to classes.

STARK CONTRAST

In my paediatric practice in both the public and private sectors, I see the stark contrast in what one might call the “two Jamaicas”. There are parents who, in spite of challenges, will do everything they can for their child to learn, even having the child do classes on the phone while waiting to be seen. Others say their child is not doing online classes due to lack of Wi-Fi. Others will pick up work from the school for the child to do at home. For the younger children, often school entry is delayed, although many early childhood centres are still open so parents can go to work.

Then there is the concern of nutrition. Many primary schools are provided with a nutritious snack or nutri-bun at minimal cost. While not adequate as a full meal, it may make the difference in preventing childhood undernutrition in the most vulnerable. With students being at home, they lose this important supplement to their diets.

Regarding the adolescents, many of them are unavoidably unsupervised with the resultant vulnerability to abuse and being adversely influenced by peers on the very devices and apps used to facilitate learning. One hears of cases of young teens linking up clandestinely while parents are unsuspectingly (or naively) at work. On the other hand, some teens are actually thriving with online classes and say they are doing better in school, even as some are falling through the cracks.

I have made a few other observations in my practice. There are fewer cases of sick visits for the common cough and cold in school-aged children. This is most likely due to less chance of spread of common viral illnesses while most children are at home avoiding COVID-19. I have also noticed an increase in overweight and obesity due to the relative inactivity and forced sedentary lifestyle of online learning. Some complain of new aches and pains due to poor posture on their devices.

MITIGATE NEGATIVE EFFECTS

What are some things that parents can do to mitigate the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic?

• Encourage your family’s physical well-being by regular exercise, such as simple activities like jumping jacks, riding a bicycle in the yard or taking supervised walks around the neighbourhood. Children need to play.

• Pay attention to your child’s nutrition and encourage fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Drinking water is vital, as well as avoiding sugary fizzy drinks.

• Minimise social isolation by keeping in touch with relatives and friends via phone and video calls or writing cards and letters or even emails.

• Keep the lines of communication open with your child. Encourage him or her to talk and also read to them regularly and share your faith. Spend time together.

• Keep up with well-child health visits, annual check-ups and immunisations. At these visits there is a chance to pick up on concerns such as underweight or overweight, and also to assess your child’s mental well-being and signs of depression.

• Help your child to cope with stress and be resilient. Some signs of stress are changes in behaviour (e.g., excessive crying), regression in development (e.g., bedwetting), sadness, unhealthy eating and sleeping habits, poor school performance, unexplained headaches or pain, use of alcohol and other drugs.

• Take care of your own mental well-being. Be a role model for your child on how to cope. Seek help for yourself with a healthcare professional if you find you are not coping yourself.

• Continue to wash or sanitise hands, wear a mask, keep a physical distance of six feet from other persons in public.

COVID-19 is a significant source of stress for all of us. We owe it to ourselves and our children to get through this with our well-being intact. This, too, shall pass.

Dr Christine Gabbadon is a primary care paediatrician with training in public health and a focus on children’s health issues. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com