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What parents can do when kids experience effects of social isolation amid pandemic

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Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

Children across the country have been cooped up for months because of the extended community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.This has led parents to wonder how all this time away from others could affect the social development of their kids.A psychiatrist and a pediatrician have raised alarm about the potential impact of prolonged social isolation on children.Dr. Jacqueline Navarro, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician, describes social isolation as the lack of social connections and should be differentiated from loneliness—being alone regardless of the amount of social contact.Navarro, during a COVID-19 special webinar hosted by The Medical City Institute of Pediatrics on Saturday, said social isolation affects the emotional and social development of children, warning that kids and teens may even develop serious mental health conditions because of the pandemic.“Isolation, contact restrictions and economic shutdown—these are the changes to our psychosocial environment. The impact of loneliness on mental health could last for one to about nine years,” Navarro explained.Dr. Vanessa Kathleen Cainghug, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, added social distancing is one of the unique effects of the COVID-19 crisis that we all have to follow.This means that for children, social networks are reduced and there are lesser interaction with peers.“There can be an increased risk for mental health problems, like generalized anxiety, depression, irritability and eating disorders,” Cainghug said.Cainghug told parents to watch out for red flags that their kids may be slipping to anxiety and depression.“In anxiety, there can be an avoidance of objects or situations related to fear, a tendency to closely monitor the feared object, somatic symptoms like headache and vomiting, and panic attacks,” she explained.She went on, “For depression, it is essential that 5 symptoms occur concurrently over a 2-week period: dysphoria or irritability, feelings of worthlessness, inappropriate guilt, diminished ability to think or concentrate, weight changes, loss of energy, etc.”Navarro said there are strategies for parents to help children cope with the current situation.She emphasized that parents should act as “consistent, responsive, sensitive, caring adults” present in their kids’ lives.Navarro mentioned the following:<div>1. COMMUNICATION</div><ul>	<li>create safe space to share concerns</li>	<li>daily check-ins</li>	<li>listen with compassion and validate feelings</li>	<li>use appropriate language</li></ul><div>2. CONNECTEDNESS</div><ul>	<li>positive social connections are important protective factors for children and adults</li>	<li>offline (arts and crafts, book reading, board games, mealtimes together) and online (video chats, following a recipe, virtual play dates) activities you do together</li></ul><div>3. ROUTINE</div><ul>	<li>should be predictable and structured at the same time flexible and spontaneous</li>	<li>brings element of certainty</li>	<li>children know what to expect and when (sleep is well-regulated)</li></ul>Navarro and Cainghug advised parents to get help once children are experiencing anxiety or depression amid the pandemic.They told parents to talk to their pediatrician or a mental health professional. They may also seek help from the Philippine Psychiatric Association.

A psychiatrist and a pediatrician have raised alarm about the potential impact of prolonged social isolation on children.

A psychiatrist and a pediatrician have raised alarm about the potential impact of prolonged social isolation on children.

What parents can do when kids experience effects of social isolation amid pandemic

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What parents can do when kids experience effects of social isolation amid pandemic

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 22, 2020 09:26 PM PHT

Read More:

social isolation

quarantine

COVID-19

emotional

mental health

social development

children

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