{"id":1296088,"date":"2022-02-14T07:31:29","date_gmt":"2022-02-14T12:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1296088"},"modified":"2022-02-14T12:37:59","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T17:37:59","slug":"playground-closed-how-lockdowns-have-impacted-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/playground-closed-how-lockdowns-have-impacted-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Playground Closed: How Lockdowns Have Impacted Children"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fplayground-closed-how-lockdowns-have-impacted-children%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1296088&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Readers-Pass-Pence-Playground-Closed-The-Negative-Effect-Of-Pandemic-Policies-On-Children-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">Pandemic-era policies continue to negatively impact young children.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">While more information will surely come to light about the longterm effects of lockdowns and mask-wearing, we already have compelling evidence to show how detrimental the impacts have been.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Last year, the CDC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/mmwr\/volumes\/70\/wr\/mm7024e1.htm?s_cid=mm7024e1_w\"><span class=\"s1\">reported<\/span><\/a> that over the course of 2020, \u201cthe proportion of mental health\u2013related emergency department (ED) visits among adolescents aged 12\u201317 years increased 31% compared with that during 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In May 2020, emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts started to go up with young people ages 12 to 17 years old, specifically with young girls.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In between February 21\u2013March 20, 2021, \u201csuspected suicide attempt ED visits were 50.6% higher among girls aged 12\u201317 years than during the same period in 2019; among boys aged 12\u201317 years, suspected suicide attempt ED visits increased 3.7%.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The problem expands beyond the United States. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/surgeon-general-youth-mental-health-advisory.pdf\"><span class=\"s1\">released<\/span><\/a> an advisory via HHS on youth mental health last year, noting that recent studies looking at 80,000 youth around the world discovered that \u201cdepressive and anxiety symptoms doubled during the pandemic, with 25% of youth experiencing depressive symptoms and 20% experiencing anxiety symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Not only did the pandemic lead to school closures and prevent children from interacting with friends and other members of their community, but it increased the likelihood that young people who are living in abusive environments are unable to seek help or get out of their dangerous situation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Children were also more likely to lose a parent or caregiver to COVID-19 due to the fact that adults are generally more at-risk of severe complications from COVID than children.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/publications.aap.org\/pediatrics\/article\/148\/6\/e2021053760\/183446\/COVID-19-Associated-Orphanhood-and-Caregiver-Death\"><span class=\"s1\">report<\/span><\/a> noting that caregiver death heightens the risk of short-term trauma and prolonged detrimental effects for children throughout their lives.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"> <span>The surgeon general\u2019s report noted that roughly 140,000 children in the U.S. had a parent or grandparent caregiver die because of COVID as of June 2021.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">As the Scientific American <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/covid-is-driving-a-childrens-mental-health-emergency\/\"><span class=\"s1\">reported<\/span><\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/media2.fairhealth.org\/whitepaper\/asset\/The%20Impact%20of%20COVID-19%20on%20Pediatric%20Mental%20Health%20-%20A%20Study%20of%20Private%20Healthcare%20Claims%20-%20A%20FAIR%20Health%20White%20Paper.pdf\"><span class=\"s1\">study<\/span><\/a> by FAIR Health looked at private healthcare claim records and found that among teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 years old, the claim lines for intentional self-harm \u2014 as a percentage of all medical claim lines in that age bracket \u2014 went up 90.71% in March 2020 contrasted with March 2019.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">When looking at the difference between April 2020 and April 2019, it almost doubled \u2013 at 99.83%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The study also noted that some mental health diagnoses went up from spring to November 2020, with kids ages 6-12 reporting an increase in obsessive-compulsive disorder and tic disorders from the same time period a year prior. \u201cTic disorder claim lines fell in March (27.2 percent), but then stayed above 2019 levels through November (28.7 percent),\u201d the study found.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Some policy makers and officials are pushing for students to continue wearing masks in school, even as the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant continues to wane.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Some have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/cdc-school-mask-guidelines-fuel-culture-war-europe-who-avoided-coronavirus-1660469\">pointed<\/a> out the difference between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the guidance issued from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) regarding placing masks on children.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In July of last year, the ECDC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecdc.europa.eu\/en\/publications-data\/children-and-school-settings-covid-19-transmission\"><span class=\"s1\">noted<\/span><\/a> that the \u201cgeneral consensus remains that the decision to close schools to control the COVID-19 pandemic should be used as a last resort,\u201d pointing to the \u201cnegative physical, mental and educational impacts of proactive school closures on children, as well as the economic impact on society more broadly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The ECDC has also only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecdc.europa.eu\/en\/covid-19\/questions-answers\/questions-answers-school-transmission\"><span class=\"s1\">recommended<\/span><\/a> children above the age of 12 wear masks in school.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The WHO <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/questions-and-answers\/item\/q-a-children-and-masks-related-to-covid-19\"><span class=\"s1\">advises<\/span><\/a> that children 5 years old and younger should not be made to wear masks.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In November of last year, Jaclyn Theek, a clinic director and speech-language pathologist at the&nbsp;<span class=\"s2\">Speech and Learning Institute in North Palm Beach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpbf.com\/article\/palm-beach-covid-therapist-speech-delays\/38189805#\"><span class=\"s3\">said<\/span><\/a><\/span> they have \u201cseen a 364% patient increase in patient referrals of babies and toddlers from pediatricians and parents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Theek said the children are \u201cspeech-delayed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Prior to the pandemic, babies and toddlers only made up 5% of patients, but at the time of the article, the number had increased to 20%.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Therapists say that some children are fine learning how to talk when people are wearing masks, but for other kids, it can lead to speech delays.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThere\u2019s no research out there yet saying that this could be causing speech and language delays. But, most definitely, I\u2019m sure it\u2019s a factor,\u201d Theek said. \u201cIt\u2019s very important that kids do see your face to learn, so they\u2019re watching your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The effects of the pandemic will be felt by the younger generation for years to come if restrictive policies continue to be implemented. Those who stood by and allowed harmful policies to go into effect will have to answer to the next generation.<\/p>\n<p><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pandemic-era policies continue to negatively impact young children.\u00a0While more information will surely come to light about the longterm effects of lockdowns and mask-wearing, we already have compelling evidence to show &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1296088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1296088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1296088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1296088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1296088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1296088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1296088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}