TAMPA, Fla. — Jeremy Dudney is a single dad of six kids and remembers when school let out for spring break, but kids never went back.
“I didn’t think they were going to drag this out the whole school year,” said Dudney.
Months later, all the time away from friends, teachers and the normal routine appears to be taking a toll on the entire family. He says his 9-year-old son Landon seems to be struggling most.
“I’m sad, maybe bored,” said Landon who became emotional and struggled to hold back his tears while talking about the separation from his classmates.
“I definitely see the depression part,” said his dad. “He’s not interacting. He’s real down.”
Child psychologists say Landon is far from alone. They’ve seen an increase in the number of kids suffering the effects of isolation.
“I think kids are stressed,” said Dr. Jennifer Katzenstein of John’s Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. “I think kids are at home probably spending more time on electronics than they typically would be and more time on social media than they typically would be.”
She says there can be more serious side effects too.
“Even experimenting with some more medications at times. We are seeing an increase and different drug overdoses and increase and suicidal thoughts and an increase in stress and anxiety.”
It’s why earlier this week, the American Academy of Pediatrics made a strong recommendation that school districts make every attempt to get kids back in class. The risk of contracting COVID-19, doctors fear, might be outweighed by the negative impacts of social isolation.
“We have to start looking at the bigger picture for mental well-being, social well-being, and also ensuring their education remains on track,” said Katzenstein.
And it’s not just school.
“You got little kids that are normally doing active things and now they’re locked down. Taekwondo is closed down for a month, so they’re not being active either, no exercise,” said Dudney.
Worst of all, the uncertainty of when things might return to normal.
“I mean he’s nonstop asking me to make sure schools on for the next year,” said Dudney of his son.
“People are wondering what’s going on,” said Katzenstein. “They want to return to what the new normal is going to look like. We’re not getting clarity on what that timeline is and that’s just leading to more frustration.”
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