Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/covid-has-a-dramatic-impact-on-children/a-56459428
COVID has a dramatic impact on children
No kindergarten or school, no play dates or sports — the corona crisis has dramatic consequences for children. Pediatricians observe deteriorating health conditions and a dramatic increase in behavioral disorders.
Date 05.02.2021
Author Oliver Pieper
It was in December that Axel Gerschlauer noticed the crisis within the crisis. In the last three weeks before Christmas, the pediatrician found himself treating three minors who had slashed their lower arms. *
Three youths in three weeks — Gerschlauer says he usually sees this sort of thing about once every three to six months. "This kind of frequency,” he says, "brought the scale of the problem home to me."
And this at a time when Gerschlauer is not even getting to see all his regular patients. Some are avoiding his practice altogether for fear of infection. His phone, meanwhile, has hardly stopped ringing, as desperate parents seek his advice.
"There has been a shift of emphasis towards psychological issues, ranging from anxieties to concentration disorders to sleep disorders. In recent months, mental health issues have increased massively."
Gerschlauer is also the press spokesman for the North-Rhine division of the German Association of Pediatricians. That puts him in an ideal position to assess how the country's 13.5 million minors are coping with the coronavirus pandemic.
He says the reports he is getting from his colleagues are getting more dramatic by the day. "Behavioral disorders, speech development issues, many children have put on a lot of weight. Excessive media consumption. And parents who aren't taking their children to scheduled check-ups."
Axel Gerschlauer says he and his colleagues can only form a vague idea of all the effects of the lockdown on children and teenagers at this stage. A further concern is domestic child abuse, much of which remains hidden from the pediatricians.
It is already clear that Germany will have to invest heavily in getting hundreds of thousands of girls and boys back on track....
COVID has a dramatic impact on children
No kindergarten or school, no play dates or sports — the corona crisis has dramatic consequences for children. Pediatricians observe deteriorating health conditions and a dramatic increase in behavioral disorders.
Date 05.02.2021
Author Oliver Pieper
It was in December that Axel Gerschlauer noticed the crisis within the crisis. In the last three weeks before Christmas, the pediatrician found himself treating three minors who had slashed their lower arms. *
Three youths in three weeks — Gerschlauer says he usually sees this sort of thing about once every three to six months. "This kind of frequency,” he says, "brought the scale of the problem home to me."
And this at a time when Gerschlauer is not even getting to see all his regular patients. Some are avoiding his practice altogether for fear of infection. His phone, meanwhile, has hardly stopped ringing, as desperate parents seek his advice.
"There has been a shift of emphasis towards psychological issues, ranging from anxieties to concentration disorders to sleep disorders. In recent months, mental health issues have increased massively."
Gerschlauer is also the press spokesman for the North-Rhine division of the German Association of Pediatricians. That puts him in an ideal position to assess how the country's 13.5 million minors are coping with the coronavirus pandemic.
He says the reports he is getting from his colleagues are getting more dramatic by the day. "Behavioral disorders, speech development issues, many children have put on a lot of weight. Excessive media consumption. And parents who aren't taking their children to scheduled check-ups."
Axel Gerschlauer says he and his colleagues can only form a vague idea of all the effects of the lockdown on children and teenagers at this stage. A further concern is domestic child abuse, much of which remains hidden from the pediatricians.
It is already clear that Germany will have to invest heavily in getting hundreds of thousands of girls and boys back on track....