{"id":7631,"date":"2020-11-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prd-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=7631"},"modified":"2024-12-14T00:24:28","modified_gmt":"2024-12-14T00:24:28","slug":"how-covid-19-is-affecting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/","title":{"rendered":"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health \u2014 and how you can help them cope","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

COVID-19 has changed the structure and routine of daily life for nearly everyone, causing us to have to adapt and cope in new ways to an unusual situation. But for younger people, these changes are especially challenging.<\/p>\n

\u201cChildren and young adults are having an especially hard time right now,\u201d says Patrick Leong, LICSW<\/a>. \u201cThe biggest difficulty for them is how much they\u2019re missing their friends and things that are familiar. So much of a child\u2019s development is the social-emotional piece: playing and interacting with friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result of not having their social needs met, more young people are experiencing mental health problems such as isolation, loneliness, boredom, anxiety, and depression, says Leong. He is also seeing more cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which is related to anxiety.<\/p>\n

For kids with neurodevelopmental differences<\/a> such as autism, the changes in routine can be even harder to adapt to, leading to more behavioral and emotional problems.<\/p>\n

The role of screens and social media<\/h2>\n

Children and teens are turning to screens even more these days for entertainment, distraction, and social interaction. While constructive online socializing can be beneficial, too much time behind screens can lead to behavioral health issues, says Leong.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important for parents to properly limit and supervise screen time,\u201d he says. \u201cSocial media can lead to thoughts of envy, jealousy, and comparison. Those thoughts can be depressive if social media isn\u2019t being monitored well by parents or if kids are using it too much. Social media is also full of heavy opinions and troubling news, so that\u2019s causing some anger and confusion as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ways to help young people cope<\/h2>\n

The good news is that there are ways to help young people better handle these unusual times and hopefully feel more connected and emotionally balanced.<\/p>\n

Engage kids in the five senses<\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019re only using one or two of them when we\u2019re online, so activating our other senses is a great thing to do,\u201d says Leong. He suggests activities such as hikes, bike rides, cooking, arts and crafts, playing outside, working out at home using a family workout video on YouTube, having kids rearrange their room, helping them paint one of their walls a different color, or encouraging them to use their hands and get dirty in whatever way works best.<\/p>\n

Help kids stay connected with friends, whatever that looks like<\/strong>. \u201cIt\u2019s important to remember that child friendships are no less important than adult friendships,\u201d says Leong. While not every family is comfortable creating a social bubble with other families, this is one way to facilitate social time. Other methods might include staying in more frequent touch with family members and friends through video or phone calls, writing postcards or letters, or allowing kids to text their friends more often.<\/p>\n

Ensure wise use of screen time<\/strong>. Now more than ever, screen time is a double-edged sword for young people. While the wrong content or too much time online can leave them feeling worse, certain types of interactive screen time can provide connection. In the absence of physical get-togethers, texting, messaging, email, and collaborative online games can provide a positive social outlet. Just be sure to preview content, supervise online activities, use parental controls when needed, and keep screen time in balance with other offline activities.<\/p>\n

Spend more time together<\/strong>. \u201cThere\u2019s a difference between being in the same house and spending time together,\u201d says Leong. \u201cIt can be easy to spend time apart in our own rooms. But take the time to play with kids, talk with them about their day, or include them in something you haven\u2019t before, like a fix-it project around the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look through the eyes of the child<\/strong>. Imagine yourself in your child\u2019s shoes to better understand what he or she might be feeling and experiencing, says Leong. Ask open-ended questions and let the child know that you are here to listen, empathize, and support.<\/p>\n

Educate kids on the psychological effects of COVID<\/strong>. Reassure kids that it\u2019s normal to have feelings such as grief, fear, anger, or loneliness due to factors like changes in routine, loss of social opportunities, missed significant life events, and risks to safety. Find resources online, such as from the CDC, to help frame the conversation.<\/p>\n

Reach out for support<\/strong>. For additional help navigating these unusual times, or if your child is especially affected, don\u2019t hesitate to talk to your primary care doctor or reach out to MultiCare Behavioral Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The team at MultiCare Behavioral Health includes pediatric and family-focused behavioral health professionals from Mary Bridge, Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare, and Navos. These compassionate, dedicated practitioners are here to help families gain the behavioral health tools they need to navigate pandemic life.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COVID-19 has changed the structure and routine of daily life for nearly everyone, causing us to have to adapt and cope in new ways to an unusual situation. But for younger people, these changes are especially challenging.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":343,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behavioral-health","category-kids-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As a result of not having their social needs met, more young people are experiencing mental health problems.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health - MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a result of not having their social needs met, more young people are experiencing mental health problems.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-10T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-14T00:24:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jessica Hirst\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health \u2014 and how you can help them cope - MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"As a result of not having their social needs met, more young people are experiencing mental health problems.\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jessica Hirst\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e07263ca1e4cc82026e067718d9274fa\"},\"headline\":\"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health \u2014 and how you can help them cope\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-10T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-14T00:24:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":807,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Behavioral Health\",\"Kids' Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\\\/\",\"name\":\"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health - MultiCare Vitals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-10T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-14T00:24:28+00:00\",\"description\":\"As a result of not having their social needs met, more young people are experiencing mental health problems.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health \u2014 and how you can help them cope\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"name\":\"MultiCare Vitals\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MultiCare\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":409,\"caption\":\"MultiCare\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/multicarehealthsystem\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/multicarehealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/multicare-health-system\\\/mycompany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/multicarehealth\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e07263ca1e4cc82026e067718d9274fa\",\"name\":\"Jessica Hirst\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/author\\\/jessicahirst\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health - MultiCare Vitals","description":"As a result of not having their social needs met, more young people are experiencing mental health problems.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health - MultiCare Vitals","og_description":"As a result of not having their social needs met, more young people are experiencing mental health problems.","og_url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/","og_site_name":"MultiCare Vitals","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","article_published_time":"2020-11-10T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-12-14T00:24:28+00:00","author":"Jessica Hirst","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health \u2014 and how you can help them cope - MultiCare Vitals","twitter_description":"As a result of not having their social needs met, more young people are experiencing mental health problems.","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/"},"author":{"name":"Jessica Hirst","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/e07263ca1e4cc82026e067718d9274fa"},"headline":"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health \u2014 and how you can help them cope","datePublished":"2020-11-10T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-14T00:24:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/"},"wordCount":807,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Behavioral Health","Kids' Health"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/","name":"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health - MultiCare Vitals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-11-10T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-14T00:24:28+00:00","description":"As a result of not having their social needs met, more young people are experiencing mental health problems.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-covid-19-is-affecting\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How COVID-19 is affecting children\u2019s mental health \u2014 and how you can help them cope"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","name":"MultiCare Vitals","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization","name":"MultiCare","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","width":1500,"height":409,"caption":"MultiCare"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/multicarehealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/multicare-health-system\/mycompany\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/multicarehealth"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/e07263ca1e4cc82026e067718d9274fa","name":"Jessica Hirst","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/author\/jessicahirst\/"}]}},"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/343"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7631"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35981,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7631\/revisions\/35981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}