CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on the mental health of children and teens. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other health leaders declared children’s mental health a national state emergency last year.
Plus, navigating back and forth from remote learning to the classroom is creating another stressor for some families.
Sylvie John is a cosmetologist and mother of two kids, aged 12 and six. Both attend a charter school in Charlotte. Following winter break and two weeks of remote learning, they’ll be back in the classroom on Monday.
“Everything is off schedule, their sleep pattern is off and that affects their day-to-day. Their relationship with friends has changed. Their relationship with teachers has changed. Communication is just off,” she said.
John says shuffling back and forth from learning from home to the classroom is not easy.
“Sometimes I have to bring them to work or schedules change, and I have to reschedule people or cancel clients,” she said.
On top of that, the kids are having a tough time adjusting.
"Acting out, especially for my younger one," she said, "and with them being in and out of the classroom they keep having to relearn things that they should already know."
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Matt Simon is a licensed therapist and the Chief Program Officer for Thompson Child and Family Focus. He said it’s important for parents to keep an extra eye on their kids during these challenging times.
“If you see drastic changes in mood, behavior, temperament, interest or just feeling disconnected," he said. "What I would tell folks is, don't ignore it."
Families don’t rely on the school system only for education either. Schools provide stability and supervision, and some families count on their kids getting a steady meal at school.
Simon adds that it is also the place where kids see their friends, build social connections and grow a sense of identity. His organization has seen the disruptions in the school system create more challenges for families especially those of lower incomes.
“We have a lot of kids that we work with at Thompson that basically completely fell off the radar of the school system. They just didn't attend," he said. "And we had parents that said, 'hey, I’m working three jobs. There's no way I’m going to get my kid to log in to online school'."
That’s why John said she is getting ahead of it making sure her kids have the support they need.
“I’m looking for somebody who can just really connect with them and just help them understand and guide them through the kind of gray space we are in right now,” she said.
Simon says he is glad to see healthy conversation surrounding mental health care taking place among family members and says early intervention is key.
“The worst thing that could happen, you take somebody to a counselor, and the counselor says, 'hey, I think your kid is fine', but you'd rather be safe than sorry," he said.
John is interviewing counselors and hoping to find someone who’s the right fit for her family.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.