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  2020-04-30

  Children in a pandemic

  Children and the pandemic. My four year old daughter does not understand what a pandemic is. She repeats that she cannot go outside or to school or to the park because of "the coronavirus". Her and her siblings, along with children all over the world, have been greatly impacted by this pandemic with no understanding of the ramifications of it's spread. Children have been sent home, isolated, many removed from space places like schools or after care programs. They have lost friendships and socialization. They have lost structure. Some have lost family members. Parents out of work have cost their family food or housing. Adults struggling to cope with their own depression and anxiety has increased children's as well. For me personally all seven of my children have been affected. My son was forced to move home from college and fell into a deep depression. My oldest daughter never walked across a graduation stage or finished her senior year. My fifteen year old with autism lost support services from school. My thirteen year old lost sports and his friendships. My ten year old with epilepsy had medical testing pushed back and then had hospitalizations with only one parent allowed, even had to be taken by paramedics alone to the hospital once. My seven year old with ADHD lost all class structure and intervention programs to help him and his anxiety and panic attacks have grown more severe. And my four year old, pictured above, lost her classroom and her joy from attending preschool daily. The new round of "return to school" virtually is brought with more anxiety and worry that the kids are not alright. The picture above showcases the innocence of a child wanting to explore the world, trapped inside and the slight sadness that this may be for the long haul. #REL101