Children’s Mental Health
The past year has been challenging for many who have had to deal with the fallout from the pandemic. Isolation created during quarantining, the economic crisis and the general uncertainty of everyday life have been major contributors to the stress felt by people during this time. In many ways, it has taken an even greater toll on children. It is a trying and frightening time for families and especially for children who have experienced the loss of a loved one due to COVID or the loss of economic, food, or housing security. Many adults are experiencing the indirect effects of caregiver stress, which can impact children substantially. Children are also dealing with the cumulative social effects of hybrid and remote schooling and the need for physical distancing, which may leave some feeling less connected with their peers and teachers.
Kids growing up in the COVID era may suffer damaging effects of a pandemic. “But kids are resilient” is a line that is often repeated. Parents around the country know that the kids are not all right and the data reflects the reality that they are not going to be all right. An emerging youth mental health crisis shows that symptoms of depression and anxiety doubled during the pandemic.
Think how the average American child has lived over the course of the pandemic. Socialization was halted and has continued only behind plexiglass, mask and distance. Many have been struggling with “remote learning,” and social media has been their only contact with friends. The cumulative effects of these stressful experiences, especially if combined with other adverse childhood experiences, can pose serious risks to children’s mental health. While children have been spared from the worst of the disease (only a small number of children have suffered severe cases) they have not escaped the stress.
Younger children and those with special needs do not have the capacity to comprehend a pandemic. They see the disruption of daily routines they depend on to make sense of their world - schools closed, summer camps shut down, play dates canceled, and cannot understand the cause. They also may have an acute awareness of the anxiety of the adults around them, causing ambient stress.
Those who can understand may become overwhelmed with a fear of becoming sick or their family members becoming sick. For school-age children and teens, the absence of socializing with their friends, which is a huge part of their lives, can lead to loneliness and boredom.
Emerging data from the pandemic suggest that many children are experiencing an increase in stress and other mental health concerns and other serious illnesses may also be increasing. We can help kids cope with the effects of the pandemic by ensuring that they have strong connections with trusted adults at home, at school and in the community.
Children must be supported in ways that respect their ideas and emotions. The impact of the pandemic cannot be reversed or diluted, but there is value in honoring the ways children have been feeling during these difficult times. We know our kids need everything we can give them to help face these challenges, from support to treatment to research. Together, we can help them weather these uncertain times.
Here are today’s Wellness Wednesday Program reading resources:
“Supporting Kids’ Mental Health During COVID-19,” co-authored by NIMH director Joshua Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., and Rachel L. Levine, M.D., Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Mental Health, September 16, 2021,
“Pandemic Burnout: The Toll of COVID-19 on Health Care Workers and Children,” Alissa Flores, PHR communications intern, Physicians for Human Rights, May 21, 2021,
“Mental Health During COVID,” Meridith Shuman, Vice President of Community Based Programs, Tennyson Center for Children, September 30, 2020, Tennyson Center,
