{"id":5084218,"date":"2020-05-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-08T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/children-and-parents-feel-the-strain-of-confinement\/"},"modified":"2020-05-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-08T04:00:00","slug":"children-and-parents-feel-the-strain-of-confinement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2020\/05\/08\/children-and-parents-feel-the-strain-of-confinement\/","title":{"rendered":"Children And Parents Feel The Strain Of Confinement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/c-hit.org\/author\/sujatasrinivasan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Sujata Srinivasan<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/c-hit.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Health I-Team&nbsp;<\/a><\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Weeks into staying home from preschool, Betty, 4, threw herself on the floor and had a screaming meltdown. She had had a Zoom meeting with her class earlier that day, and every little thing was setting her off.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe don\u2019t accept screaming in our house,\u201d said Betty\u2019s mother, Laura Bower-Phipps, professor and coordinator of elementary education at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. \u201cSo, we counted the screams, and when she hit three, my wife and I told her she needed to take a break for four minutes.\u201d Betty took the break, came back and screamed three more times, and again went to her quiet spot for another four minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so, it went on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parents, pediatricians and child psychologists across Connecticut are reporting an increase in tantrums, nightmares, and regressive behavior, weight gain, and mood swings among toddlers and young children. The mental health struggles spring from school closures and social distancing measures required to flatten the curve of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A study released this month in JAMA Pediatrics on the mental health status of children confined at home during the coronavirus outbreak in the Hubei Province of China, where the infectious disease originated, found that 22.6% of students surveyed reported having depressive symptoms, and 18.9% had symptoms of anxiety. \u201cDuring the outbreak of COVID-19, the reduction of outdoor activities and social interaction may have been associated with an increase in children\u2019s depressive symptoms,\u201d the authors conclude.<\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hispanic children and adolescents are at significant risk for mental health problems, and in many cases at greater risk than white children.<\/h4>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).  <\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The worldwide lockdown of public spaces and schools, while essential in stopping the spread of COVID-19, is proving to be the 21<sup>st<\/sup>&nbsp;century\u2019s great social experiment on the long-term implications of social isolation on the mental health of children. National and local experts say the distress in children is made worse by the uncertainty surrounding the duration of the quarantine.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe level of disruption COVID-19 is causing is what is considered toxic stress,\u201d said Dr. Robert D. Keder,&nbsp;a&nbsp;developmental and behavioral pediatrician&nbsp;at Connecticut Children\u2019s Medical Center.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> \u201cChildren have used up their emotional reserves, and with some, we see them falling apart at the smallest of things. It is really testing everyone, especially parents,\u201d said Keder, who is also an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Megan Goslin, a clinical psychologist at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/medicine.yale.edu\/childstudy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yale Child Study Center<\/a>&nbsp;in New Haven, has observed that some children who had been potty-trained are having more accidents, and kids who were sleeping independently are now sneaking into mom and dad\u2019s room.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt makes a lot of sense that children do that because of how overwhelming it is,\u201d Goslin said.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beleaguered caregivers are increasingly turning to their preschools for help.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne 3-year-old woke up from a nap and asked if his teacher is mad at him<strong>,\u201d<\/strong>&nbsp;wondering why he\u2019s not in school, said Niloufar Rezai, director of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.easternct.edu\/child-and-family-development-resource-center\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Child and Family Development Resource Center<\/a>&nbsp;at Eastern Connecticut State University.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Dara Richards, chief medical officer at&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.swchc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Southwest Community Health Center<\/a>&nbsp;in Bridgeport, said children, in particular, are vulnerable to the struggles of adapting to life in quarantine.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur behavioral health therapists are reporting that the lack of structure and support that was provided by day care or school has prompted or exacerbated psychiatric symptoms such as increased anxiety, anger outbursts and reactivity toward others,\u201d Richards said. \u201cThis is more pronounced in children with diagnosed mental health disorders such as autism, ADHD, psychosis and mood disorders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p> <em><strong>\u201cOne 3-year-old woke up from a nap and asked if his teacher is mad at him,\u201d wondering why he\u2019s not in school.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p><cite> <strong>Niloufar Rezai<\/strong> <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Across the state, parents say they see unexpected behavioral traits in their children. Cate Vallone, a Pilates instructor and single mother in Hartford, is overwhelmed by the new struggles of her preteen daughter Camilla.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMost of the time, my 9-year-old is behaving like she is in middle school,\u201d Vallone said. \u201cOf course, it\u2019s something I knew was coming, but I didn\u2019t think it was a light switch that just turned on suddenly. She rolls her eyes. She gives me attitude. She tries to blame everything on me. And then after five or so days of us barely hanging on like that, all of a sudden she will walk into the kitchen with her arms out and say \u2018I need a hug.\u2019 And then just start crying on my lap when I sit down to hug her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The times that she\u2019s broken down, Vallone said, Camilla didn\u2019t want to talk. \u201cShe stays with me for the rest of the night and will watch TV and snuggle like we did before the isolation began,\u201d Vallone pointed out. \u201cAfter a safe night\u2019s sleep, she\u2019s back to her self-isolation from me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parents are also feeling the pressure as financial, emotional and physical stressors rise. A &nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-reform\/issue-brief\/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaiser Family Foundation poll<\/a>&nbsp;found 45% of adults in the United States reported that worries surrounding COVID-19 had impacted their mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heather Bassett, mother of Colby, 6, and Cooper, 2, broke down one night during the lockdown. Bassett teaches early childhood education at Mitchell College in New London and is an adjunct at Three Rivers Community College and Eastern Connecticut State University. Additionally, she runs a real estate business from home, without which, she said, she\u2019d \u201cbe up a creek without a paddle financially.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cooper had repeatedly been asking to \u201cgo, go, car,\u201d and Colby, who \u201chates this stupid virus,\u201d has been increasingly unhappy at not knowing when COVID-19 will disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a very difficult time to be a parent of young children,\u201d Bassett said. \u201cSociety is like, \u2018OK, work from home.\u2019 So, I\u2019m running my household, doing laundry, dishes, dinner and lunches. All of that, and I\u2019m expected to do the same kind of work that people without children, or with grown children, are doing. My frustration with that is mounting. At Zoom meetings, I don\u2019t show my face anymore. I don\u2019t have my mike on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bassett said she tries hiding her stress from her children but is sure it\u2019s coming through.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tania Banks, 24, a single mother of two in Hartford, lost two of her five part-time jobs due to COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOn a scale of one to 10, my stress levels are at nine,\u201d Banks said. \u201cOne of the jobs I lost paid $23 an hour, and that\u2019s a big impact on my income. On top of that, the kids get antsy being in the house all the time, and I get judged when I bring them outside, but it\u2019s like what do I do? I\u2019m eight months pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Are you or your child feeling anxious? Here\u2019s a partial list of mental health services for families:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Connecticut Children\u2019s pediatric COVID-19 hotline: 833-226-2362<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Childcare for essential workers during COVID-19:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/portal.ct.gov\/-\/media\/DCF\/Agency\/COVID-Emails\/Child-Care-for-Essential-Workers.pdf?la=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">state of Connecticut portal<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Childcare for health care and first responders: 860-756-0864.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Parents and caregivers who are worried about routines, their children and finances can call 860-882-6405 to speak with Lisa Backus, a clinical psychologist at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thevillage.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Village for Families and Children<\/a>&nbsp;in Hartford, on Mondays 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Tuesdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Wednesdays 1 to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 For parents and caregivers who need someone to listen, to understand and to talk your feelings out, the state of Connecticut offers the \u201cWhen it builds up, talk it out line\u201d at 833-258-5011.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 For referrals to counseling services for adults, children and youth, call 2-1-1 of Connecticut.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2022&nbsp;<\/strong>The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a Disaster Distress Helpline for 24\/7 counseling and support for individuals who are distressed by natural or human-made disasters. Call 1-800-985-5990 to talk to a crisis counselor.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 The&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/teacher.scholastic.com\/education\/coronavirusworkbook\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yale Child Study Center and Scholastic<\/a>&nbsp;Collaborative for Child and Family Resilience has a free downloadable workbook in English and Spanish titled \u201cFirst Aid for Feelings: A Workbook to Help Kids Cope During the Coronavirus Pandemic,\u201d by Denise Daniels. Download at&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/teacher.scholastic.com\/education\/coronavirusworkbook\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Collaborative\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2022&nbsp;<\/strong>The Child Mind Institute offers&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/childmind.org\/our-care\/telehealth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bereavement and grief support<\/a>&nbsp;with a grief counselor for those who have lost a loved one due to COVID-19: 212-308-3118.<\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Publisher\u2019s Note:&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/ctln.local\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CTLN<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<\/em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/c-hit.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>c-hit.org<\/em><\/a><em>collaborate to best serve the Connecticut Hispanic, Latino community.<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By&nbsp;Sujata Srinivasan, Health I-Team&nbsp; Weeks into staying home from preschool, Betty, 4, threw herself on the floor and had a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[571,121],"tags":[1674],"ppma_author":[565],"class_list":["post-5084218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c-hit","category-health","tag-childrencovid-19mental-health-and-latino-chlldrenpsychology"],"acf":[],"mb":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jermaine Smith","author_link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/author\/jay\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By&nbsp;Sujata Srinivasan, Health I-Team&nbsp; Weeks into staying home from preschool, Betty, 4, threw herself on the floor and had a [&hellip;]","authors":[{"term_id":565,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"news-editor","display_name":"News Editor","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"mfb_rest_fields":["title","uagb_featured_image_src","uagb_author_info","uagb_comment_info","uagb_excerpt","authors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5084218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5084218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5084218\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5084218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5084218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5084218"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5084218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}