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As a toddler, Kenley Gupta stopped speaking after her mom died. Over the years, she recovered from the anxiety disorder, called mutism, but in March the 8-year-old went silent again.

The change occurred soon after her school shut down. Kenley was shocked when her school closed.

"I was really sad I couldn't see my friends," she said.

She was normally a social butterfly and a good student. But after the pandemic forced the school to adopt full-time distance learning, Kenley often crumpled into a ball and hid under her blanket. She would clutch Green Guy, her favorite stuffed animal. Most of the time she refused to talk. The few words she uttered were expressed in Green Guy's cartoon voice.

Instead of logging onto Zoom for classes, she spent much of the day gaming - glued to a hot pink iPad. She also stopped drawing and started to eat more.

"There was a kind of almost compulsive snacking that I had never seen before," said Jay Gupta, Kenley's dad.

As a single father, he's struggling, too. Gupta is trying to juggle his job as a philosophy professor at a local college and keep Kenley's twin brother, Anakin, on track as well. Anakin doesn't like distance learning either.

"I much prefer real school because I'm an energy boy," he said. "Home school, I just sit on the couch and say, 'Blaah.' "

Anakin's mental health hasn't declined during the lockdown, but the 8-year-old did fall behind in his schoolwork as the months passed.

"I really felt like I was out at sea," his father said. "At some point, I gave up."
Alarming trends
Even before the coronavirus hit, mental health problems such as depression and anxiety were on the rise in children ages 6 to 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research shows social isolation can make these symptoms worse.

Currently, there's little hard data about how the pandemic is affecting children's mental health, mostly because the outbreak is still unfolding and research takes time. The little that scientists have measured is worrisome.

A national survey conducted in the spring of 3,300 high school students found nearly a third reporting they were unhappy and depressed "much more than usual" in the past month. Almost 51% said they felt a lot more uncertainty about the future as well.

Overseas, in a survey of 1,143 parents measuring the effects of the lockdowns in Italy and Spain, nearly 86% reported changes in their children such as difficulty concentrating and spending more time online and asleep, and less time engaging in physical activity. A study of 2,330 schoolchildren in China found both anxiety and depression rose compared with rates seen in previous investigations.

There's plenty of anecdotal evidence to corroborate these trends.

"We see high levels of anxiety," said Saun-Toy Trotter, a psychotherapist at University of California, San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland, "high levels of depression."

Her school-based clinic recorded more youth suicide attempts in the first four weeks of the pandemic than it did in the entire previous year, she said.

"They're giving up hope," Trotter said. "There's nowhere to go. There's nothing to do. There's nothing to connect with. There's just deflatedness."

Trotter advises parents to check in often with their children, listen closely and set routines. She also advises parents to take care of themselves.

"Give yourself as much permission as possible to relax," she said. "Rest. Reset. Restore."

Schools and community organizations are also learning how to support students through virtual events, telehealth sessions and socially distanced activities. Trotter cites the working farm at Castlemont High School in Oakland.

"There are students who garden there three days a week, growing kiwis and red peppers," she said.

She quoted one teenager who was looking on the bright side. " 'If it weren't for COVID, I wouldn't be sticking my hands in the dirt for the first time,' " she said.
Finding resilience
The Gupta family turned a corner over the summer when the twins enrolled in a daily outdoor camp. Within weeks, Kenley rebounded and was back to her old self.

"It is notable that her mood took a 180," her father said. "She's a different person."

The increased social interaction paved the way for a soft landing when the twins returned to distance learning in the fall. Both kids are in therapy. Kenley recently started drawing again.

She still sulks, battling a kind of internal silent storm, as her father describes it. But Gupta is discovering new ways to help Kenley cope. For instance, if someone in the family sits next to her during Zoom classes, she pays closer attention. Just the simple presence of someone familiar keeps her anchored.

Gupta looks forward to the day when Kenley is supported by her teachers in person again.

"I'm all for opening the schools," he said, as long as it's done safely.

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Pandemic Takes Toll On Children's Mental Health

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As a toddler, Kenley Gupta stopped speaking after her mom died. Over the years, she recovered from the anxiety disorder, called mutism, but in March the 8-year-old went silent again. The change occurred soon after her school shut down. Kenley was shocked when her school closed.

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A psychological effect  associate  with maternity leave benefits on mental health.

As it might be known by many, childbirth is one of the hardest task women goes through. It is important for new parents to have enough and adequate time off from work to take care of their newborn. But unfortunately, America is one of the few advance countries who don't have a federal law in place to protect parents with newborns.

According to research, psychological theories that  provide the basis to link women's mental health to their employment and fertility decisions(Marshall & Barnett, 1993)

“Maternity leave policies may have long-term effects on mother's health by preventing or reducing the stress around childbirth. New mothers are at increased risk for a range of psychiatric disorders including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and postpartum psychosis, (Brockington, 2004).

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The impact of childhood trauma through child development: 

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The impact of childhood trauma through child development: 

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Childhood Trauma can come from a very young age,(before the age of 8) hence they lack strength and protectiveness . During the traumatic event it can lead to the kid blaming themselves for not being able to do anything. When young children suffer through the traumatic experience they are at risk of suffering from

Reduced size of the brain cortex

-which results in reduced memory, attention, thinking, language, and consciousness

May affect IQ

Unable to regulate emotions

Effects of childhood trauma
-Anxiety
-Cnacer
-Depression
-Diabetes
-Heart Problems
-Obesity
-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
-Stroke
-Substance use Disorder
Treatments such as talking it out allows the child to express themselves, asking for help, taking care of themselves

-References-
https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/early-childhood-trauma/effects
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/childhood-traumas-lasting-effects-on-mental-and-physical-health/

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A child’s speech and language development starts in the womb, they are able to hear, and respond to familiar voices. The fastest learning occurs from ages 2-5 years. Speech and language comes in milestones that help track a child’s development with their age group. First milestone occurs around 2 months, with cooing. The second milestone, babbling at around 6 months, the third milestone, A child is able to speak “jargon” a type of baby gibberish, by their first birthday.

By the fourth milestone, a child is able to understand more than he/she can put in words, at or around 15-18 months, also, around 18 months, many children experience a burst in talking. The fifth milestone occurs around 24 months, where children know about 50 words, they also start to use 2 word phrases. The ages of these milestones vary from child to child, some children are more advanced than others, and are more common in girls than boys.

There are ways to help a child to advance in their speech and language. A child who is surrounded by speech and language , all the time usually learns faster. Talking and reading to your child has a big effect on how well a child is able to communicate later on in life. In some children, trouble with hearing, or because of a developmental disorder such as autism, can cause a child to have a delay in language development. It’s important to track your child's speech and language with your child’s physicians, if caught early, a child can overcome many speech and language problems with treatment. https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/hw265266

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Global Nutrition Target for Breastfeeding by the World Health Organization

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Global Nutrition Target for Breastfeeding by the World Health Organization

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The effects of Parental Drugs on child development 

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The effects of Parental Drugs on child development 

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In this video, you will hear about a young teenage girl's life and the struggles she faced growing up with a heroin-addicted mother.

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One Nation Overdosed: How Children Cope With A Parent's Addiction | NBC Nightly News

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The psychological effects of drugs and alcohol on child development

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The psychological effects of drugs and alcohol on child development

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When a woman drinks alcohol while being pregnant. It results in the baby developing FASD which stands for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. This is because the alcohol in the mother’s blood passes to the baby through the umbilical cord. People with FASD might have,
-poor coordination
-learning difficulties
-hyperactive behavior
-poor memory
-speech and language delays
-Vision or hearing problems
-Problems with the heart, kidneys, or bones
FASD has no cure and lasts a lifetime but, research shows that early intervention treatment can improve a child’s development.

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/facts.html

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BREASTFEEDING NUTRITION AND ITS IMPACT ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT

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BREASTFEEDING NUTRITION AND ITS IMPACT ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT

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In the following video, we learn the early natural insticts that babies are born with that helps them latch to their birth parent. Proving a safe space for the birth parent and baby to bond, will provoke the baby to easily latch onto their birth parent. Latching is crucial, as this can increase the chances of the baby to receive exclusive breastfeeding. Leading to healthier growth and brain development.

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Early Initiation of Breastfeeding - Breastfeeding Series